Romanian Comedy Festival kicks off on Sunday

The 16th edition of the Romanian Comedy Festival - festCO is running 20 to 27 May in Bucharest, nine shows from Bucharest, Arad, Buzau and Craiova being selected to participate in the competition section of the festival. 

The event is organised by the Bucharest City Hall through the Comedy Theatre but there will be other venues for the shows at Odeon Theatre, Metropolis Theatre, Children's Palace, Teatrul Mic (the Little Theatre), the National Theatre, the Romanian Playwrights' Theatre, as well as a stage set up in the Old Centre. There is no entrance fee to most of the performances. 

The Odeon Theatre in the Capital will enter the competition with the show "Robinson Crusoe's Diary" after Gellu Naum's "The Island", directed by Mihai Maniutiu, the Comedy Theatre will present "Breaking News" after Mihail Sebastian's "Last Hour", directed by Mircea Cornisteanu. 

Also from Bucharest, Act Theatre will join the competition with the show "N-ai tu treaba!" (None of your business!) by Catalin Stefanescu, after Ion Creanga's Danila Prepeleac, directed by Alexandru Dabija; the Romanian Playwrights' Theatre with "Balul cimitirului" (The Cemetery's Ball) after George Astalos, directed by Alexander Hausvater; Teatrul Mic with "Apa vie" (Living water) by Daniel Chirila after the Grimm Brothers, directed by Stefan Lupu and Metropolis Theatre with "Black and White and Grey", story and directing, Mimi Branescu. 

"Ioan Slavici" Classical Theatre in Arad will be present with "Our City" by Cristian Ban after Thornton Wilder, directed by Cristian Ban; "Marin Sorescu" National Theatre in Craiova with "Gaitele" by Al. Kiritescu, directed by Alexandru Boureanu, and "George Ciprian" Theatre in Buzau will present the show "The Snows of yore" after Dumitru Solomon, directed by Ilinca Stihi. 

This year's edition selector is theatre critic Maria Zarnescu. 

"In 2018, festCO is initiating a special section (FOCUS) dedicated to the world's great theatrical cultures. This edition proposes a dialogue with the Republic of Poland, which this year also celebrates, just as Romania, a century of national existence. Both countries are celebrating at festCO their comedy values through an unique dialogue. 'Focus Poland' is inviting the Romanian audience to a celebration of the inspiration in which two nations are meeting, for the Centennial, under the noble sign of comedy," the organisers' release shows. 

The 2018 festCO Gala will take place on 27 May, after the extraordinary performance of the show "Intre noi e totul bine" (No matter how hard we tried) by Dorota Maslowska, directed by Grzegorz Jarzyna.