KALI TRAŠ / BLACK FEAR
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
Written and directed by: Mihai Lukács
MEDIA
TVR 2 – Reportaj Ilinca Ciobanu despre premiera Kali Tras
Revista Arta – Vrăjitoarea ca instrument al transgresiunii
Evenimentul Zilei – „Kali Traš/Frica Neagră” – Monumentul viu
Cotidianul – Creații în premieră pentru suflet și minte
Adevărul – Spectacolul „Kali Traš”/„Frica Neagră“