Dabija’ s Eggs

This week, The Youth’s Theatre from Piatra Neamţ is in a tour at Odeon in Bucharest, thus it is submitting to the judgement of the „capitalists” its latest productions. Monday and Thursday, after Afrim’s public was greatly rewarded with the production Herr Paul, in which the actor Cezar Antal had an overwhelming role, Alexandru Dabija’s turn came to show the fruits of his collaboration with The Youths’ Theatre: You cannot Toy with Love (Wednesday) Eggs (Thursday). In order for our article to have a fruitful finality, we shall discuss here about Dabija’ s production, for which you can still find tickets- Eggs.

In the title we asserted that the “eggs” belong to Dabija, but now comes the moment of truth. The ”eggs” are actually “inherited” from Ion Creangă, and the legacy has been properly prized, because Eggs is simply The Purse with Coopers Two, recreated in such a manner as it could be re-written for a magazine, which could be very appropriately entitled Moldavian Hustler. It is a peasant’s story that could be told by the fireside after the children are in bed.

Dabija’s approach would certainly be to Creangă’s liking, who, as it is known, while he was reading for Junimea (The Youths) was asking if he should take the straight path or the roundabout, and read his “licentious” or just his “sexy” stories. The Purse with Coopers Two retold by Dabija in the sweet Moldavian dialect is ethno- sexy. The old man is unhappy. His “cockerel” cannot lay eggs and that’s it. The owner doesn’t know how to remedy the problem: should he beat the cockerel to a pulp or should he try to get him” pregnant”. The poor winged creature tells the old man that he doesn’t have the necessary “organism”, although, as far as he is concerned, he would have like it, because he is a hen soul held hostage in an ungrateful body of a cockerel. Besides, he is an artist- interpreter, who plays at various instruments, and his relationship with the neighbour’s industrious hen, is similar with the one between the relationship between the cricket and the ant from La Fontaine’s fable. The production is a very good joke and the hearty laughter rewards the actors that interpret their parts with genuine joy. Although it seems a healthy gallop, the parts are not at all facile; at least two actors have their scores as rewarding as they are difficult: Cezar Antal, in the role of the orchestra- cockerel and Tudor Tăbăcaru, the old man from the resources. We should mention the Old Woman (Cătălin Eşanu), kind of dominatrix avant la lettre, with her little hen, (Andreea Gavriliu), the women who hatch and gather the eggs (Nora Covali, Ecaterina Hâţu and Loredana Grigoriu), a depressed squire Ionuţ Cucoară), an urchin coachman (Daniel Beşleagă) and one piece of storyteller (Dragoş Ionescu).

They discuss a lot , both on the straight path and on the roundabout one, about eggs, both the eggs of the Old Woman’s hen, which are big and numerous, but they also talk about the old man’s “eggs”, the small and insignificant ones that are good for nothing. Industrious women that are jolly and foul- mouthed bring in hundreds of real eggs. Some of the eggs crack, but this is it, collateral damages. The women plant the eggs carefully in the earth, with the hope of gathering more in the summer. Their most ardent wish is to have a crop as that of the peasant from The Story of Stories, but for now, they are content with eggs.

The language with two meaning is extremely creative, and the “porno” images and language are benign. To sum up, the performance brings cheerfulness and disinhibition, although, we must admit that everything occurs on the “wholly board of the stage”.