TNB's Caramitru: People are not afraid to come to the theatre; they feel protected by rules

The manager of the Bucharest National Theatre House (TNB) in Bucharest Ion Caramitru said on Monday that people are not afraid to come to the theatre, especially as they will feel protected by the rules that apply inside the theatre houses.

He said that although the government had announced that theatres could re-open on September 1, that was not possible because a number of mandatory rules had to be developed.

"Even if the government has announced that the theatres will re-open on September 1, that is not possible for many reasons and especially starting with the mandates: the halls must be nebulised, that is cleaned of possible infections, all air conditioning systems must be regulated, a certain type of maintenance must be done, and then for each show that is repeated, a special rehearsal must be done to implement the rules of physical distance among the actors - there are more dangerous scenes from this point of view - so many measures must be taken before re-opening. While the rules for the spectators are classic - temperature checks, wearing a mask, keeping one seat free after two occupied seats, occupancy rules capped at 50%, but not more than 500 places, depending on the size of the room, all these rules are easier to put into practice than what happens on stages, where we cannot move with the mask, obviously, and the measures are much more drastic in a certain way," Caramitru told AGERPRES on Monday.

The Bucharest National Theatre has announced re-opening the season from September 16, for the beginning in three of the halls inside the building: the Great Hall, the Studio and the Painting.

Among the first titles to return on the season's poster are "Micul infern" (Little Hell) by Mircea Stefanescu and "Allegro ma non troppo" by Ion Minulescu, at the Great Hall; "Rumors. A Farce," by Neil Simon, at the Studio Hall; "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," a stage adaptation of the eponymous novel by Mark Haddon; "Figuranta" (The Extra), by Andreas Petrescu, "A fost odata in Romania" (Once upon a time in Romania), and "Omul care a vazut moartea" (The man who saw death ) by Victor Eftimiu, at the Painting Hall.

Outdoor performances continue at the TNB Amphitheater, located upstairs, on the rooftop, throughout September.