The “Future is Feminine” at Bucharest International Theatre Platform

The first edition of the Bucharest International Theatre Platform, organised by ArCUB and ARPAS (the Romanian Association for the Promotion of Performing Arts) in partnership with the British Council Romania and the Polish Institute in Bucharest and with the support of Ibsen Scholarship, kicks off between on Thursday, November 13 at Gabroveni Inn and ends on16 November.

This new initiative, designed to become an annual event, aims to bring forward international theatre shows and thus contribute to the effervescent cultural scenery of the capital city.

This first edition is dedicated to the feminine point of view and subscribes to the “Future is feminine” statement, welcoming theatre shows, film screenings and debates addressing feminine themes.

Two intense UK theatre productions, selection of the British Council Showcase at the Edinburgh Festival, will be among the stars of the Bucharest International Theatre Platform, “The Tin Ring” and “Major Tom”, followed by discussions with the artists themselves.

“The Tin Ring” tells the story of Zdenka Fantlová, one of a handful of Holocaust survivors still alive today. Born in Czechoslovakia, Zdenka was 17 when the war began and the ring of the title was given to her by Arno, her first love. Zdenka kept it with her as a symbol of truth and hope from Terezin to Bergen-Belsen.

Adapted for the stage by Mike Alfreds and Jane Arnfield, directed by Mike Alfreds „The Tin Ring” is a profoundly uplifting story of great love, brought to life by Jane Arnfield’s extraordinary solo performance.

”Major Tom” is the story of how an average 34-year-old became a beauty queen and how her unruly pet basset hound, Major Tom, became a championship show dog. Major Tom and Victoria increasingly immerse themselves in the obsessive and confusing realm of personal scrutiny as they participate as genuine contestants, determined to win. Accompanied on stage by documentary film footage and her dog, Victoria tells this true story, which explores the British fascination with celebrity, beauty and winning.

“Dress with a hole” by Polish troupe

Teraz Poli? artistic group from Warsaw presents “Dress with a hole” daring performance at the Bucharest International Theatre Platform on November 15. Four women prepare for the courtesan, geisha, prostitute and kept woman parts, fighting to get off with a man, to please and use him.

Women involved in a love affair are used by men and rejected by other women. On the other hand, they earn their living by using men. Each courtesan (geisha or prostitute) must learn how to choose the right man, to seduce him, earn him, how to induce pleasure so that she can be rewarded and…how to leave him when she needs to. The Polish troupe’s show is trying to attest that women in our European culture are precisely taught the same lessons. Women have been taught for ages that their existence meaning is to be with a man. These are the game’s rules and they make women always take care to use instead of being used. There are no winners on the sexual market. When we start to perceive ourselves and other human beings as products with a price tag, then we enter the game and start gambling. And we are all losing, irrespective of the sex. The show is not recommended to persons under 16.

Tickets for the theatre performances can be purchased at the ArCUB booking office on 14 Bati?te Street for the price of 25 lei. Passes are also available for 75 lei providing entry for all the four shows featured in the Platform.