Today, April 8, for the International Romani Day, we are launching the campaign ”The Future of Theatre through the eyes of Roma actresses and actors”. Starting today, throughout Romani Month, we will put Roma actresses and actors in the spotlight: we will celebrate a different person every day, getting to know each of them individually, those we already collaborate with and those with whom we will work in the future.
We founded Giuvlipen in 2015, in a cultural and political climate that did not offer Roma culture and history any legitimation. 5 years later, we managed to place Roma theatre on the cultural map of Romania. You know our mission: alongside the creation of a contemporary, lively and progressive Roma culture, we are pushing for the creation of a Roma State Theatre in Romania, as every ethnic minority should have.
For 2 weeks, each day, we will pose this question: how does the future of theatre look through the eyes of Roma actresses and actors? In the context of the new epidemic of SARS-CoV-2, when it is impossible for us to be on the stage and to work, can we imagine a theatreless world? Or, what would an utopic theatre of the future look like we let our imagination run free? Our campaign gathers testimonies, aspirations, interests, visions, but also fears and worries of a generation of actresses and actors who, each in their own way, attempt to change the world, to make it a more generous place, a place in which our collective imagination no longer tolerates the same fake and distorted representation of the Romani population.