Murals (2008) by PHANTAST - Graffiti - Cultural Music & Art Association inc. - 98 Milne St. Benleigh
MAD FOREST, A PLAY FROM ROMANIA,
WRITTEN BY CARYL CHURCHILL,
DIRECTED BY ANDREA MOOR
Dr. Andrea Moor, senior lecturer in Acting Creative Industries at Faculty QUT, and her 2nd year students visited our church 'St Dimitrie' in Brisbane on 29/01/17 and 5/02/17.
They have been working to put on stage "Mad Forest" by Caryl Churchill (about Romanian Revolution 1989).
The students were impressed: "We've learn so much and you've given us much inspiration for our play "Mad Forest". I hope we do the story of '89 revolution justice and I pray it is a true and honest portrayal of the struggle Romania faced. Please come and see our show! "(Sisi Stringer, student QUT, 29/01/2017).
THE MAD FOREST:
The first act ("Lucia's Wedding") and the third act ("Florina's Wedding) are dramatic fictions.
The second act ("December") is based on interviews conducted by the playwright, a director, and ten Romanian student actors.
The first act is set in Communist Romania, several months before the Revolution, and establishes an atmosphere permeated by the Securitate (Romania's secret police), in which one young woman's engagement to an American draws scrutiny on all of her family and associates.
The second act—using the same actors to portray an entirely different set of characters—recounts the events of December 21–December 25, 1989 in Bucharest.
The third act, set largely in a hospital where one of the characters from Act I is recovering from injuries sustained during the fighting engage matters such as Romanian perceptions of the Hungarian minority and many conflicting views as the extent to which the events December 1989 and the rise of Ion Iliescu constituted a coup d'état versus a revolution.
While much of the play is naturalistic, it also includes several surreal passages: minor characters include an angel, a vampire, and a ghost ( From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).
DIRECTORS NOTE:
'Even though Mad Forest was written about events of almost 3 decades ago, the play is frightening relevant today. In the last few weeks the people of Romania have taken to the streets in numbers not seen since the 1989 revolution to protest their corrupt government. As we sit in the comfort of middle class Australia we are appreciating our freedoms and questioning how we can support the freedom of others. Caryl Churchill has always been to me the voice of our conscience or lack of it. In Mad Forest she explores the political through the personal and presents the arguments without wrapping a neat ribbon in the form of a conclusion. We are left to investigate further. This has been an exciting journey of discovery for the company that has opend our eyes and hearts. I think we have all been changed from working on this play.
We would like to dedicate this production to the people of Romania in their struggle for liberty'.
FEATURING : 2nd year Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) Students:
Clementine Anderson; Molly Burnett; Noah Fowler; Meg Fraser; Maeve Hook; Gerick Leota Thomsen; Siandra Stringer;Tania Vukicevic;
Olivia Bird; Madeline Exarhos; Morgan Francis; Daniel Gabriel; Samantha Lush Tatum Mottin; Michael Vandersande; Harley Wilson
From 20 to 24/02/2017 the play was on stage at QUT.
A WONDERFUL SHOW WITH EXTRAORDINARY TALENTED ACTORS!
The actors were so moved by your attendance and I believe they felt the true power of theatre on Thursday night. Here are their words of thanks.
Much love to you and Maria and your congregation
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Father Ion and your delightful congregation,
I cannot begin to thank you for your generosity, for letting us experience a part of your rich culture, for speaking to us with passion and listening to us with patience. My experience in your church was truly remarkable and I will never forget the kindness and acceptance I was shown by your congregation. It has been more than my pleasure to meet you all and hear your stories, we could not have told this story the way we did without you. More than anything I want to thank you all for coming to watch the production. It was by far one of the experiences of my life performing for you all, I feel so privileged to have experienced something so powerful so early in my career. So thank you all, I will hold this experience and all of you close to my heart always. I have been truly touched by your strength, your love and your generosity and I hope we have made you proud and done this story some justice. I will continue to pray for the freedom of the Romanian people, we hope you know you are always welcome in our theatre. All love and light, Clementine |
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Father Ion,
We are so lucky and thankful for your kind and generous support through our journey to tell such an important part of Romania's history. I am so grateful for your patience, guidance and willingness to help. I hope we were able to do the people of Romania proud. Sincerely, Noah |
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Dear Father Ion,
Thank you so much for your guidance and generosity in welcoming us into your church and sharing your story with us! It was such a privilege to hear your story and have you come to see the play. It was so wonderful having all you all in the audience. Thank you for everything. Best wishes, Tatum |
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Father ion,
I truly cannot express how deeply grateful I and my whole cohort feel after being honoured with the presence of yourself and your congregation in the audience for what is truly a harrowing history and story of Romania. I can only hope we did the story justice. It was a most humbling experience knowing the people of Romania were with us and were there to support us in telling this story! My heart is full. Thank you for everything Sincerely, Daniel. |
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Dear Father Ion,
What a privilege and an honour it has been to use the power of theatre to share this story with others thanks to your generosity and support. It has been lovely too meet you all and hear your stories. To have you all in the audience was a humbling experience and will be a memory I, and I'm sure many others, will hold close throughout our journey. Sincerely, Sammy. |
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Father Ion, Maria and the whole congregation, your kindness, generosity and spirit have made an immeasurable difference to the process of our production! As young artists living demanding lives among chaos it is easy to let everything pile on top of us and forget why we do what we do. Your presence and support have reminded us all of the power of theatre and storytelling, which is invaluable to a group of young actors. I feel reawakened and now I remember how I can personally contribute to the betterment of the world through what I do, which is the most important thing to me in life. Thank you all for being part of our journey and I pray we have have made you proud and done justice to Romania and the enduring struggle for freedom. Please feel free to come and see any of our shows, you are always welcome at QUT!
Sincerely, Sisi |
We are forever lucky to have witnessed your beautiful passion and devotion for the history and culture of Romania. It means the world to the ensemble that we are able to perform such captivating stories for the people of Romania, and now we strive to inspire others with the same loyalty. Thank you for showing us love, commitment, and benevolence. The QUT Actors are grateful for your support.
Sincerely,Tania
Thank you so much. It is an honour and privilege to share the history of Romania. You really inspired us to tell the story. My heart is warmed and I will never forget this experience.
Olivia
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