English-language volume looks at the history of post-communist Romanian theater

A History of Romanian Theatre from Communism to Capitalism. Children of a Restless Time, written by Romanian Cristina Modreanu, was recently published by Routledge publishing house.

The book analyses the last three decades of Romanian theatre and connects it to the international stage.

The author questions the relationship between artists and power, both before 1989 and in the current global political context, with nationalism manifesting itself in Eastern Europe, as seen in the critical work of Romanian theatre makers.

The book covers the complex cases of theatre makers such as Lucian Pintilie, Liviu Ciulei and Andrei Șerban, who built their international careers in exile, and the most innovative Romanian artists of today, such as Silviu Purcărete, Mihai Măniuţiu, Gianina Cărbunariu, Radu Afrim, and Bogdan Georgescu, who reached the status of transglobal artists.

“After years of being able to give too few answers when I was being asked around the world about which English-language book about Romanian theater I would recommend for the reading list of theater studies students, I aimed to fill, at least partially, an information gap about the performance scene in this part of the world, which would deserve more attention than it is receiving right now,” the author explained.

The book can be ordered here.

(Photo: Cornel Lazia)