Mr. Leonida Faces the Reaction

What can I do? Show Up

Category: Art

When: 08:00 PM November 29, 2007 to 03:00 PM December 15, 2007

Text by Ion Luca Caragiale
Adapted and directed by Cristina Iovita
A Théâtre de l'Utopie Production
(Play in French)
 
November 29 to December 15
Wednesdays to Fridays at 8 p.m.
Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
 
With Thomas Perreault, Costa Tovarnisky, Érick Tremblay
Designers: Alexandra Sutto, Fruzsina Lanyi, Mélina Dupin Girod, Anne-Catherine Simard Deraspe
Music: Benoît Rolland   Video: Dan Popa
 
Montreal, November 22, 2007 - After an astounding success last season, Théâtre de l’Utopie returns to the MAI, from November 29 to December 15, with a multimedia adaptation of a play by Ion Luca Caragiale (1852-1912). With Mr. Leonida Faces the Reaction (1880), this celebrated Romanian literary figure takes us back to a chapter in Romania’s history when a Republican revolution threatened to overthrow imperial rule.
 
On Carnival night in Bucarest, Leonida, a petty bourgeois, reads the promises dished out by presidential candidates in the paper, to his wife, Efimita. Naïve and calculating, the couple is so eager for the revolution to happen that they envision themselves vanguards of the uprising. But their devotion to the cause is quickly put to the test when their daydreaming is interrupted by festive sounds that they mistake for actual gunshots.
 
Thanks to her multimedia adaptation of this classic piece, Cristina Iovita, Artistic Director of Théâtre de l’Utopie, revives a play which testifies to a turning point in Romanian history. Following the War of Independence in 1877-78 against the Ottoman Empire, Caragiale’s Romania is working out its national identity and searching for post-independance ideals behind which to rally. Today, Caragiale’s theatre takes on new significance, as it entertains and gives food for thought to an audience which will recognize in his writings sociopolitical hurdles that still echo true, even in present-day Quebec.
 
Born in 1852, Ion Luca Caragiale was a playwright, short story writer, lampoonist, poet, theatre director, political critic, and journalist. He is considered as one of the greatest playwrights of his time and a major Romanian literary figure. While his mastery of the Romanian language enriched its vocabulary and symbolical universe, his works also influenced popular speech and the writings of such modern-day playwrights as Eugène Ionesco.
 
Founded by Cristina Iovita, Théâtre de l’Utopie tackles social issues which allow them to share their vision of society, both past and present, by addressing their public through direct dialogue. In its eight years of existence, the company has adapted and presented eleven creations, including Communication à une académie by Franz Kafka, Jacques le fataliste by Diderot (Théâtre Prospero), Molière en hiver by Molière (Bain St-Michel), and Mundo Tango by Jorge Luis Borges (MAI).
 
Conversation with the artists on Friday evenings after the show
 
General information:
info@m-a-i..qc.ca
514-982-1812
Billetterie :  514-982-3386

Contact information: Media Relations Véronique Marcotte v.marcotte@videotron.ca 514-842-3579

Web link for more information: https://alliance.boxxo.info:8443/index_en.html

Source: MAI

by Théâtre de l’Utopie in collaboration with the MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels)