Eugène Ionesco’s Rhinoceros premieres at the Tamási Áron Theatre

Following the festive premiere in Gheorgheni, the co-production Rhinoceros, created to mark the 40th anniversary of Figura Studio Theatre, will also be presented in Sfântu Gheorghe. The play is based on Eugène Ionesco’s absurd drama and directed by the theatre’s former founder, László Bocsárdi. The joint performance will be presented on Wednesday, 24th September at 7 p.m.

On Sunday morning, somewhere in a little French town, a rhinoceros stomps down the street. What can be done in such a situation? Who should be called? Or should it even be dealt with at all? The eccentric Bérenger is so hungover that he can’t be bothered with it, but later he can’t stop thinking about it, because there are more and more rhinoceroses. They are slowly flooding the whole town. Some say there is something naturally innocent about them. But who knows how long something can remain natural, and where does the unnatural begin? What is normal and what is abnormal? Are rhinos beautiful or ugly? Is morality superior to nature? Is it better to fall in line or remain alone in the world?

According to director László Bocsárdi, Eugène Ionesco is an extremely important figure in 20th-century theatre; his views sparked the process of re-theatricalization in the 1950s, moving away from literature-based theatre. “Ionesco believed that literature, words that are pre-packaged concepts, cannot truly convey the experience that theatre offers. Theatre can convey emotions and make feelings tangible for the audience in a way that language alone cannot” said László Bocsárdi. He admits that this was his goal when he founded Figura Studio, trying to stage performances that were structured differently from what was typical in theatre at the time. Their performances drew on the human body, gestures, and feelings, rather than approaching theatre from a literary perspective.