"Remulus

Remulus is a highly topical play both in theme and staging that was performed in France in November 2014. It was first conceived and performed in 2009 in Italy, under the title "Romolus - correct politically show", as a collective dramaturgy inspired by a highly publicized true fact.

It fully deserves the attention of the readers of an architecture magazine mainly because it is not a theatrical performance in the classical sense, but rather a cross-cutting performance that could just as well be described as an urban experience and that was "born" from the initiative of a Romanian architect. It seemed to me somehow an extremely fine synthesis of the present times with the superficial cosmopolitan character of European cities, behind which lie acute social and ideological conflicts. It is an event that combines theater, street animation, dance, film and everyday life in the end, with a very strong symbolic message.

Both the location of the performance and the moment of its beginning are diffuse, the performance circulating through several indoor and outdoor spaces, followed by an audience that sometimes catches only certain fragments or aspects, as in the case of an urban sequence. This creates a certain confusion between reality and fiction from the start. The audience begins by witnessing a scene of urban life that is very possible in the everyday landscape of international metropolises. It is not clear from the start who are the actors and who are the other spectators as long before the performance begins the performers discreetly mingle in the audience. Also, the action starts very direct and personal so that it is not clear whether a reaction from the audience is expected. The play is so vivid, so incisive, that it tempts involvement. Effective audience participation is also stimulated by this deliberate blending of audience and actors, another implicit message being that the characters are people like anyone else in the audience and such things can happen to any of us. The approach is very appropriate especially in the context of a play dealing with highly complex and intriguing political, social and cultural issues. It is an interweaving of arts, characters, mentalities and ultimately individual needs in a global society, as evidenced by the use of 6 languages (French, Italian, Romanian, Romanian, German, Romanian, English) throughout the play.

One of the main achievements of the show is that it manages to be a moving, thought-provoking performance that stirs deep thought without becoming overwhelming, unbearable. Although it raises some very topical and complex issues (social exclusion and its consequences at various levels), it rather urges towards a positive, constructive attitude, facilitates the understanding of the issue as a whole and the adoption of a reasoning and behavior that will facilitate its solution.

Credits:

Idea of the show: Andrei Feraru

Directed by Andrei Feraru and Camille Pawlotsky

Adaptation for performance in France: Andrei Feraru, Patricia Feraru and Camille Pawlotsky

Choreography: Eugen Jebeleanu, Yann Verburgh

Video recording and editing: Camille Pawlotsky; Clémence Pogu (video) and Philippe Henry (sound)

Framing and costumes: Patricia Feraru with Joan Bich (costumes and video makeup)

Lighting, props: Patricia Feraru and Camille Pawlotsky

Performers: Sandra Veloccia, Thomas Ducasse, Antoine Reinartz, Eulalie Juster, Marilena Ivan, Eugen Jebeleanu, Giuseppe Furia, Didier Sauvegrain, Angelique Cavallari, Sandra Veloccia. Benjamin Arrigoni Maujean, Mélodie Cosquer, Quentin Giraud, Florence Mato, Camilla Pizzichillo, Andrea Verga

First Italian playwrights Andrei Feraru and Tatiana Olear

Authors: Massimo Bavastro, Lia Bugnar, Ana Candida de Carvalho Cameiro, Silvana Grasso, Katia Ippaso, Ștefan Peca, Sara Pessina

The photographs by Pino Montisci were taken on the occasion of the presentation of the performance during the Trame d'autore festival at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan, where he was invited on September 21, 2014.