– Catun
There is a word in Romanian which has no English equivalent. Basm. Roughly translated, it means “fairy tale.” Ours is a tale, but with no fairies.
Immerse yourself in the mysterious world of Romanian folklore sprung from the mind of award-winning performer and playwright Cristina Tudor as she explores the memories of family, the meaning of homeland, and the fables we tell each other about ourselves and the past.
“MASTERFUL…surprising and worthy of appreciation” – LiterNet
“Poetic…graceful…intuitive” – 4Arte Romania
Loved this production. Highly skilled performers telling a folk tale with modern resonance.
It takes some stamina to. Stay with the story but it is well worth the effort.
Lia and Dor is a mashup of a Romanian village love story and a folk tale, involving a couple whose love is blocked by village and family prejudice and fears. Cristina Tudor who wrote the play and Alexander Forsyth take on both title roles as well as the roles of many others including grandparents and other relatives, and supernatural creatures, as the story moves back and forth between real life and fairy tale. At one point they are debating the power of a magic charm and he says a charm can’t make things happen, and she replies, no, but people can. That is the essence of the story which is performed in English but with frequent, beautiful singing in Romanian. Tudor is an especially impressive singer, and Forsyth is also excellent, and their occasional duets are especially moving. The play is enhanced by the use of puppetry costumes representing various magical beings.
On the other hand, it is very challenging to try to follow the story line, with both actors frequently changing characters. They signal the changes through changes in their voices and small costume adjustments – changing from male to female by wearing a scarf for example. In order to figure out what’s going on you have to keep track of the names of various characters, and who is related to who, and which of them is now male or female. I was a bit lost most of the time. Still I got the overall drift of the story and loved the experience, the music, and the theatricality of the performances.