PROMETHEUS’22 – AN INTERNATIONAL CO-PRODUCTION PRESENTED BY THE HUNGARIAN THEATRE OF CLUJ

The Hungarian Theatre of Cluj will premiere PROMETHEUS’22 in Hungarian, Romanian, Slovenian, and English on Friday, July 1, at 8 pm, in the Main Hall of the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj. Directed by Gábor Tompa, the performance is a co-production of the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj, the State Theatre of Constanţa and SNT Drama Ljublajana, within the framework of the European Theatre Union's Catastrophe project.

Gábor Tompa said at the beginning of the press conference preceding the premiere that under the auspices of the Catastrophe project, 7 co-productions will be created based on the themes of ancient Greek tragedies, involving a total of 16 theatres. He added that the production of PROMETHEUS'22, staged at the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj, is a meditation on the condition of the intellectual in the 21^st century, where the role of intellectuals is to preserve objectivity and pass down knowledge to younger generations in a digital age dominated by social media.

The actor portraying the title character, Igor Samobor, spoke of the importance he attaches to international co-productions such as this one, which offer an opportunity for different perspectives to meet, reflecting also on the topical aspect of the work: "We are all familiar with the myth of Prometheus, who brought fire and thus knowledge to people, teaching them from the earliest time of human history. In fact, he taught people how to become to civilized. Now that there is a war going on not far from us, now that we feel the world is collapsing around us, now that we are surrounded by fake news, now that we cannot decide what is true and what is false, we must go back to the beginning and decide which are the things that truly matter."

Vasile Șirli, the composer of the performance, said that music is able to convey the anguish, the doubts, the fear and the questions that the work deals with. “I wanted the music to be about pain, about our thoughts, about the good or the bad, and more about hope, the great hope that everything will be alright in the end. I wanted the music to be like an experience that makes us think good thoughts."

The production features Igor Samobor, Domen Novak, Eva Jesenovec (SNT Drama Ljubljana), Cătălina Mihai, Florin Aioane, Ecaterina Lupu, Mirela Pană, Dana Dumitrescu (State Theatre of Constanţa), Gábor Viola, Áron Dimény, Tamás Kiss, Anikó Pethő, Eszter Román, Zsolt Bogdán, Andrea Vindis, Melinda Kántor (Hungarian Theatre of Cluj).

Alongside the director, Gábor Tompa, the creative team includes also: Erwin Șimșensohn (the director's collaborator), Carmencita Brojboiu (set elements and costumes), Vasile Șirli (composer), Ágnes Kali (dramaturg), Ferenc Sinkó (choreographer), Radu Daniel (video artist) and Gyopár Bocskai (assistant visual designer).

Following the premiere, PROMETHEUS’22 will also be presented on July 2 and 3. Tickets for the performances can be purchased at the theatre's ticket office (weekdays between 10 am and 2 pm) or online at www.biletmaster.ro.

The production will also premiere in Ljubljana in October, as well as in Constanţa in December. PROMETHEUS'22 will also be featured in November in Cluj, within the Interferences International Theatre Festival, and will participate in the Finisterra Festival in Porto, in February 2023, an event organized by the São João National Theatre and the European Theatre Union.