VLAICU VODĂ

1370. Vlaicu Basarab is sitting on the throne of Wallachia, which is already under the pressure of Hungarian suzerainty.

A diplomat by excellence, Vlaicu acts submissively towards his stepmother, Lady Clara. His passive and obedient attitude draws the ire of the boyars and makes them lose their confidence in him. While Lady Clara seeks to benefit from the lack of confidence of the boyars in Vlaicu Vodă (a Romanian title for a „voievod”, a medieval king) and constrains him to accept her authority in the internal affairs. In the meantime, Vlaicu Vodă seeks to establish a strong political and religious alliance, which is why he wishes to marry his sister, Anca, with the Serbian ruler Simion Stareț. To compromise this, Lady Clara encourages and even publicly announces the intention to marry Anca to Mircea Basarab, drawing the latter’s support. The boyars support Vlaicu Vodă against Lady Clara, but Baron Kaliany is banished from court. Mircea Basarab attempts to kill Vlaicu Vodă, but ends up killing his guardian, Grue. When Mircea Basarab realizes that everything is part of a plot by Lady Clara, he swears to defend Vladislav-Vlaicu with his life. The end of the play sees Vlaicu Vodă on the throne of Wallachia, ruling over a free and independent kingdom.

Vlaicu Vodă is the promoter of defense by dissimulation. He often counts on balanced diplomacy to win fights without useless aggression. He is understanding and kind to the boyars and humble to Lady Clara, but when forced to take a radical decision in a difficult situation, he becomes skeptical and analytical.

On the other side, we have Lady Clara, Vlaicu Vodă’s stepmother, who wants to ensure the influence of the Hungarian king over Wallachia, in order to convert the Romanians to Catholicism. On the background of the battle for the independence of the Orthodox faith, the foreground of the play is also occupied by the love story between Mircea, whose character is antithetical to Vlaicu’s vision over ruling, and Anca, Lady Clara’s daughter and Vlaicu’s stepsister. Due to her love for Mircea, Anca is a symbol of innocence, who manages to inspire in him the manners and behavior of a young future king. The most vocal characters, Nicodim and Groza, support the king’s cause, while Kaliany, Pala, and Mircea become the most precious tools in the hands of Lady Clara. Boyars, an embodiment of the masses, always hesitate between the staunch position of Lady Clara and the skill with which Vlaicu Vodă manages to avoid the escalation of conflict. They embody the unstable attitude that is as easily recognizable in political systems now as it was then.

 

By: Alexandru Davila

Cast:

Vlaicu Vodă: Ioan Coman / Gavril Pătru / Cristian Nicolaie

Lady Clara: Isabela Neamțu / Mihaela Trofimov / Lavinia Șandru

Mircea: Radu Micu / Bogdan Nechifor

Anca: Camelia Pintilie / Dana Marineci

Neagu: Mihai Mitrea

Pala: Ovidiu Cosovanu

Nicodim: Ion Bechet

Groza: Doru Bem

Vlad: Ciprian Cojenel

Costea: Robert Radoveneanu

Manea: Dragoș Spahiu

Miked: Dan Clucinschi

Herescu the Romanian: Ovidiu Ușvat

Kaliany:  Mircea Băluță

Envoy / Messenger: Tudor Pîrvu

Boyar: Alexandru Popa

Child servant: Roberta Mitache

Grue: Vasile Menzel

Ladies: Cosmina Dobrotă, Silvana Ionescu, Raluca Botez, Magda Condurache, Ștefania Dumitru, Veronica Popescu, Iulia Samson, Oana Tofan, Loredana Cosovanu, Andreea Hristu, Oana Predescu, Ana Udroiu, Andreea Șovan, Mihaela Coveșeanu, Mădălina Ignat

Masks: Ema Constantin, Maria-Luiza Dimulescu, Sabina Ioniță, Ana Maria Postelnicu, Alina Tofan, Vlad Pelin, Cosmin Ilie, Zoran Raici, Ionuț Terteci, Andrew Lupu

Director: Horia Suru

Second director: Ligia Ciornei

Assistant director: Victor Tunsu

Stage design: Cristian Marin

Assistant scenographers: Ioana Săndulescu, Cătălin Manea

Papier-mâché designer: Gelu Râșcă

Original Score: Petre Ancuță

Sound engineer: Horia Panaitescu

The Ascendis Chamber Choir, led by Eduard Dinu

Bălașa Percutions, led by Gabriel Bălașa

Archaic ensemble:

Constantin Axinte Amza – zither

Ionel Păucă Croitoru – tuba

Cătălin Gorgon – trumpet

Aurel Ciucur – percution

Bianca Drăgoi – violin

Alice Muller – violin

and the „Trei parale” band

Choreography: Andreea Duță

Light design: Cristian Niculescu and Costi Baciu

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