Tulogdi-Szűcs Botond: Report on the performances “Mozaik” and “Father, Son, …” at the 14th HolnapUtán Festival

Memento mori (1) — this was the message conveyed by today’s performances. I rarely listen as much as I could. Instead, I postpone, procrastinate, let things slip away, miss opportunities, arrive too late... Is that really a good idea?

No matter how perfectly tuned an instrument may be, dissonant chords can still be played on it — and usually are. Yet, as we heard from Nicu in the Figura Studio Theatre’s performance Mozaik, disharmony is part of harmony. We love dissonance, especially listening to it. After all, what would jazz be if we were afraid to stretch the rules of harmony? The kalimba resonated so clearly in classroom 126 of the Mihai Eminescu High School that the absurdity of conflict became unmistakably evident beside it.

The ninth-grade students performed the interactive moments of the Ariel Youth and Children’s Theatre from Târgu Mureș with remarkable maturity. A young boy burdened by hardship confronts the father he has not seen for a long time. Or rather, he would confront him. The title of the performance is Father, Son, … As possible continuations of the title, suggestions included “washing machine,” but also “Father, Son, Reality” and “Father, Son, Memory.”

Today we were met with relentless care. Tomorrow we continue with the same momentum.

Tulogdi-Szűcs Botond — Master’s student in Theatre Studies at Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca.

 

(1) “remember that you are mortal.” (latin phrase)