Kali Traš is a dramatisation of Roma author, Valerică Stănescu’s Cu Moartea-n Ochi (Facing
Death) book. Perhaps the most brutal, significant and widely overlooked chapter in Roma
history, Kali Traš tells the gut-wrenching story of the Roma Holocaust under the political regime
of Antonescu. We follow a travelling theatre company of Roma performers in the 1940s as their
lives are impacted by the immediate threat of deportation to Transnistria.
Kali Traš is part of Roma Theatre is not Nomad: Memories of Transnistria, a project made
possible with the support of the National Cultural Fund Administration. Co-creating Kali Traš
with another minority state theatre, the State Jewish Theatre, is a great opportunity to further the
claim for development of a State Roma Theatre in Romania. Our long-term goals are to expand
the contemporary Roma theatre repertoire, increase the visibility of Roma cultural output, and
connect Roma theatre to mainstream audiences.
“Kali Traš” (the romani language, Black Fear) is one of the names given by Roma people to the
Holocaust, a subject almost forgotten in our collective consciousness. Romania took too much
time admitting to the Roma genocide, therefore there are so few representations of deportation
of Roma to Transnistria in art, media, history books or public discourse.
For ”Kali Traš” we had to use all our artistic resources, our passion, grief and burden, in order
to reproduce such a dark history. We aim higher than simple documentation of history. We aim
for a performance which will linger in the hearts and minds of the audience, long after they leave
the theatre. Albeit painful, we unearth the history in pursuit of answers to modern
injustice.”(Mihaela Drăgan)
TEAM
With: Zita Moldovan, Mihaela Drăgan, Claudiu Dumitru, Ninel Petrache, Mircea Dragoman Scenography: Iulia Toma Choreography: Paul Dunca, Ana Costea Playwrite: Mihaela Drăgan Text: Mihaela Drăgan, Mihai Lukács Regie colectivă