By Alexander Manuiloff
Three actors receive a script they have never seen before, piece by piece. A situation and design for a theatre evening, that discusses the questions of democracy, the potential for solidarity and participation in increasingly isolated and disconnected societies. Also love, violence, and serenades. There is a twisted love game at the backdrop of a dark, anti-utopian prospect of a whole country entering a state of war. All the situations are testing some form of personal corruption – staring from intimate relations, going through working situations and finally reaching to socially significant acts. Examining the topics of internal, personal corruption, and the important decisions (often invisible to outsiders' eyes) that can change the direction of one’s life, the audience will also have the opportunity to take decisions while the actors are not supposed to pre-learn a script. The performance becomes an interactive event that effortlessly invites everyone to join in and have their say.
Join for a post show discussion with the author.
The text was developed within the framework of the WRITE International Playwriting Residency, Sicily, 2018 and was presented for the first time in Romanian at Transit House, Cluj, Romania, in 2019. First prize for dramaturgy in the international competition of ACT Association, Sofia Municipality and Tou Scene, Norway, 2023.
Based on the true stories and letters of Belarusian female political prisoners, in particular Maria Kalesnikava.
The Salzburg performance is presented in cooperation with the long-term project "Practicing Care" of the Mozarteum University Salzburg.
Also supported by the Consulate General of the Republic of Bulgaria.
Photo credit: Toplocentrala Sofia
ABOUT THE 2025 REHEARSAL FOR TRUTH INTERNATIONAL THEATER FESTIVAL
Rehearsal for Truth International Theater Festival, honoring Václav Havel, is a showcase of contemporary European theater organized each year in New York City. Conceived in 2017 as a shared endeavor of the Václav Havel Center (VHC) and Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association (BBLA), the festival honors the legacy of Czech playwright, dissident and political thinker Vaclav Havel.
Each edition of Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival addresses current sociopolitical trends in Central and Eastern Europe, offering New York audiences a unique opportunity to witness the region’s theatrical zeitgeist.
The program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. The festival is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.