The valorization of the documentary theatrical form in the romanian space

Increasingly popular worldwide, the documentary theatre has had a significant influence on the Romanian theatre movement, including in the Republic of Moldova, especially during the first two decades of the 21st century. Stories drawn from socio-political realities, narrated by eyewitnesses, interspersed with reports and speeches from state officials, on the one hand, and the freedom to explore and experiment, which in turn demands new working methods, a new style, and an innovative way of communication, on the other hand, could not fail to attract the attention of many young creators such as: Mihaela Sârbu, Anca Grădinariu, Geanina Cărbunariu, Mihaela Michailov, David Schwartz, Bogdan Georgescu, Ioana Păun (Romania), Mihai Fusu, Dumitru Crudu, Nicoleta Esinencu, Luminița Țâcu, etc. (Republic of Moldova). In Romania and the Republic of Moldova, the documentary theatre is practiced and promoted by the independent theatrical sector. This phenomenon appears as a response to institutionalized theatres, which usually do not experiment with new theatrical forms and do not have a significant impact on the audience, failing to provide young artists the opportunity to assert themselves, remaining in many cases tied to tradition. Within independent platforms such as Macaz, the Dram.Acum project, Teatrul fără frontiere (Romania), Laborator teatral/Foosbook, Spălătorie (Republic of Moldova), specific documentary theatre projects have been created. International residencies, workshops, and seminars held by European theatre companies have fostered the emergence of new drama in the Romanian theatrical space. Residencies at the Royal Court Theatre in London have influenced the development of new dramaturgy in the contemporary Romanian theatre. Thus, at the end of the 1990s, key Romanian playwrights, including Alina Nelega, Maria Manolescu, Andreea Vălean, Gianina Cărbunariu, Mihaela Michailov (the last two being exponents of documentary formulas in dramaturgy), benefited from the residency programs at the London Ttheatre. Mihai Fusu, a promoter of documentary theatre in the Republic of Moldova, the coordinator, director, and co-author of the first documentary theatre project-the play A Șaptea Kafana (2001) and other important documentary theatre projects in the local cultural space-completed internships in France at the ThÉâtre de la Jacquerie, the National Dramatic Centre in Montpellier, Switzerland at the Le Grütli Theatre, and the Serge Martin Theatre School in Geneva. Nicoleta Esinencu, the author of verbatim-based texts staged at the Spălătorie Theatre in Chișinău, benefited from fellowships at the Solitude Academy in Stuttgart, Germany, the Recollets International Accommodation and Exchange Center in Paris, and the Bourges Theatre in France. The establishment of a repertoire focused on socio-political realities is a specific factor for promoters of the documentary theatre, with the mission to propose collective attention to topics that public authorities avoid. In this context, quite relevant is the volume Teatrul politic 2009-2017, coordinated by the Romanian directors and playwrights Mihaela Michailov and David Schwartz, promoters of the political documentary theatre, who create plays documenting the realities of systemic inequalities. Socio-political realities are also addressed in the texts included in the volume Chișinău, 7 aprilie. Teatru document. The book, published in Bucharest in 2010, includes plays by Irina Nechit (Coridorul morții), Mihai Fusu (Podozritelnoe iebalo or Am ce am eu cu polițiștii), Dumitru Crudu (Mâine la aceeași oră), and Constantin Cheianu (Și cu bunelul ce facem?), providing evidence that the phenomenon of documentary theatre has gained some attraction in the space between the Prut and the Dniester. The authors of this book address topics inspired by everyday Moldovan reality, particularly those related to the events of April 2009: the fraudulent parliamentary elections by the Communist Party, the massive protests by young people in the National Assembly Square, violent actions by special police units against the demonstrators, torture, rapes, beatings of young people in police stations, the death of young Valeriu Boboc, and the formation of the Alliance for European Integration. The verbatim technique or the interview as a working tool for creating documentary texts has been adopted by the creators of the documentary theatre in Romania. The period following the declaration of independence of the Republic of Moldova in 1991, with all its issues, served as a source of inspiration for young playwrights who are advocates and promoters of the documentary theatre. A multitude of texts for documentary plays produced in the Bessarabian theatrical space are based on interviews, written using the verbatim method. One of these is A Șaptea Kafana, a production of the Coliseum Arts Centre. The text consists of monologues of young women forced into prostitution, with interviews carried out and incorporated into the textual structure by the authors Dumitru Crudu, Mihai Fusu, and Nicoleta Esinencu.