The German State Theatre Timisoara is pleased to announce that Nadirs, one of the most beloved shows in the GSTT repertoire, adapted in 2012 by Niky Wolcz, Valerie Seufert and Ulla Wolcz from Hertei Müller's volume of short stories, returns to the stage starting November 23, 2023 at 7.30 pm. The next performance will take place the following day on 24 November at the same time.

When Herta Müller's prose volume Niederungen/Nadirs was published by Kriterion Verlag in Bucharest in 1982, it was clear to everyone interested in Romanian-German literature that an exceptional author had entered the small literary stage. For the Banat Swabian communities in East and West, however, the book was a scandal. Its publication in 1984 by Rotbuch Verlag in Berlin was instead celebrated as a major sensation.


It describes life in a Banat Swabian village from the perspective of a child. There are no plot lines, no individuality in the characters and the portrayal is anti-idyllic. The child experiences the world as a veneer behind which lies cruelty, stubborn adherence to traditional values and sympathy for Nazis. The discourse is critical, radical and poetic.


In 2012, Niky, Ursula Wolcz and stage designer Helmut Stürmer succeeded in "translating" the linguistic images using the means of theater, with the performance also drawing on other texts from the volume. The dictatorship also appears here, which only later became a theme in Herta Müller's work. However, the new production does not seek to confront the constricting world that no longer exists. The Banat village has long since become a metaphor.

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With: Isa Berger, Mina Șelariu (guest), Ioana Iacob, Alexandru Mihăescu, Ida Jarcsek-Gaza, Franz Kattesch, Enikő Blénessy, Daniela Török, Simona Vintilă, Daniel Ghidel, Harald Weisz, Silvia Török, Tatiana Sessler-Toami, Yannick Becker, Rareș Hontzu, Boris Gaza, Radu Brănici, Ștefan Bogdan (guest), Isolde Cobeț, Olga Török, Richard Hladik, Dana Borteanu, Aida Olaru, Alma Diaconu.

Orchestra: Ioan Varadi - percussion; Aurel Pișleagă - trumpet; Sorin Steia - accordion; Emil Zău - trumpet; Titus Sărăcuț - tuba.

Appearances in movie scenes: Josef Kradi (guest), Teodora Dan (guest), Thomas Griesbacher (guest), Emilian Roşculescu (guest).

In other roles in movie scenes: Eva Bancea (guest), David Dămăcuș (guest), Ema Diaconescu (guest), David Săracu (guest), Luca Săracu (guest), Antonia Șurianu (guest).

Co-direction: Ulla Wolcz (guest) • Stage & Light-Design: Helmut Stürmer • Costumes: Fehervári Zsolt (guest) • Movie direction: Bogdan George Apetri (guest) • Dramaturgy: Valerie Seufert • Assistant director: Isolde Cobeț, Harald Weisz • Child supervision: Isolde Cobeț • New footage for the 2023 film version: Cristian Ienciu • Assistant set decorator: Fehervári Zsolt (guest) • Costume assistant: Dana Borteanu • Technical direction: Costinel Stănescu • Make-up: Bojița Ilici, Adriana Unguraș (guest) • Choreography counseling: Tiberiu Palikucsan (guest), Edith Singer (guest) • Choreography assistance: Olga Török • Ethnographic assistance: Edith Singer (guest).
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Niky Wolcz was born in Timisoara and studied acting at the Theater and Film Academy in Bucharest. He began his career as an actor at the GSTT and later played at the renowned Bulandra Theater. After leaving the country in 1975, he directed at numerous theaters and opera houses in Germany, including Bochum, Essen and Frankfurt, but also in Austria, Switzerland and France. From the mid-1990s, Wolcz taught acting at Columbia University in New York together with his wife Ursula. He has worked as a stage director and choreographer at La MaMa Theater in New York, the American Repertory Theatre Boston and the New York Metropolitan Opera, among others.


What is striking about Niederungen/Nadirs is the special perspective of the child, which is, however, always doubled by the critical reflection. There are two narrators who are always involved, as victims but also as outsiders, which is very theatrical. Herta Müller's poetic language is like a mask behind which something is concealed, but which also takes on a life of its own. It becomes a carrier of the action, but at the same time you can always refer to the person who is saying something. - Niky Wolcz






Helmut Stürmer was born in Timisoara and studied stage design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bucharest. He initially worked at the State Theater in Sibiu and the Bulandra Theater in Bucharest. This was soon followed by the production of film sets and commissions for municipal theaters in Cologne and Munich. After leaving the country in 1977, he worked for numerous theaters and opera houses in Europe, including the Schauspielhaus Hamburg, the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris and the Bonn Opera. Over the course of his career, he has received several awards for his stage designs from the Romanian Theater Union UNITER, but also abroad. In 2021, he received the Order for Cultural Services in Romania with the rank of Commander.



More details here:
https://www.teatrulgerman.ro/ro/reprezentatii/tinuturilejoaserefacere/
Tickets can be purchased at the GSTT box office (Alba Iulia Street 2) or online: https://www.entertix.ro/evenimente?s=teatrul+german

See you at the theater!