OPOZIȚII. TEATRU RECUPERATIV
OPPOSITIONS. RECUPERATIVE THEATRE
Author(s): Viorel Cojanu, Radu Apostol, Mihaela Michailov, Aurora Rodrigues, Inês Melo, Tina Giannouli, Mihai Burcea, Adina Marincea
Contributor(s): Viorel Cojanu (Editor)
Subject(s): History, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Literary Texts, Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Cultural history, Drama
Published by: Asociatia Culturala REPLIKA
Keywords: Recuperative theatre; Socially engaged performance; Memory and trauma; Restorative practices; Theatre and social justice; Vulnerable communities; Participatory art; Cultural intervention; Opposition and resistance; Ethical dramaturgy;
Summary/Abstract: Oppositions. Recuperative Theatre examines contemporary independent theatre practices situated at the intersection of social engagement, cultural intervention, and restorative approaches. The volume conceptualizes theatre as a space of opposition to dominant narratives, social exclusion, and institutional rigidity, while simultaneously proposing performance as a recuperative practice that fosters dialogue, visibility, and symbolic repair. Through essays, case studies, and reflective analyses, the contributions explore how theatre engages with memory, trauma, and vulnerability within marginalized communities. Emphasizing participatory and process-oriented methodologies, the volume frames theatre not only as an aesthetic practice but as an ethical and relational act embedded in specific social contexts. By bridging theoretical inquiry with artistic experience, Oppositions. Recuperative Theatre contributes to current debates on socially engaged art, cultural sustainability, and the transformative potential of performance in contexts marked by inequality and social tension.
- Print-ISBN-13: 978-973-0-43507-8
- Page Count: 136
- Publication Year: 2026
- Language: Romanian
Internaționalizarea ca practică artistică sau strategie de supraviețuire. Note din interiorul unui teatru independent
Internaționalizarea ca practică artistică sau strategie de supraviețuire. Note din interiorul unui teatru independent
(Internationalization as Artistic Practice or Survival Strategy. Notes from Within an Independent Theatre)
- Author(s):Viorel Cojanu, Radu Apostol
- Language:Romanian
- Subject(s):Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Sociology of Art
- Page Range:5-11
- No. of Pages:7
- Keywords:internationalization; independent theatre; transnational collaboration; cultural sustainability; projectification;
- Summary/Abstract:This chapter examines internationalization in independent theatre not as a peripheral goal or visibility-driven strategy, but as an embedded artistic and managerial practice shaped by structural precarity. Drawing on the case of the Replika Educational Theatre Center, the authors analyze how transnational collaboration functions as a mechanism of survival, professionalization, and symbolic legitimation within a fragile cultural ecosystem. The chapter argues that, in the absence of coherent national cultural policies, international projects operate as temporary infrastructures that reshape artistic practices, organizational roles, and governance models. While internationalization enables access to resources, networks, and critical exchange, it also intensifies administrative complexity and organizational vulnerability. Positioned within the Eastern European context, the analysis highlights the ambivalent nature of internationalization as both a strategy of resilience and a source of new dependencies, contributing to broader debates on cultural sustainability, projectification, and the role of independent cultural organizations in transnational cultural spaces.
O femeie portugheză. Între amintirile dictaturii coloniale/fasciste și neliniștea prezentului
O femeie portugheză. Între amintirile dictaturii coloniale/fasciste și neliniștea prezentului
(A Portuguese Woman: Between the Memories of Colonial–Fascist Dictatorship and the Anxiety of the Present)
- Author(s):Aurora Rodrigues
- Language:Romanian
- Subject(s):History, Literary Texts, Cultural history
- Page Range:13-19
- No. of Pages:7
- Keywords:authoritarianism; political repression; anti‑fascist resistance; historical memory; gendered activism;
- Summary/Abstract:This chapter presents a first-person testimony of growing up and coming of age under Portugal’s colonial-fascist dictatorship, tracing the formation of political consciousness through lived experience, repression, and resistance. Drawing on personal memory, the author recounts student activism, political persecution, imprisonment, and torture carried out by the political police, situating individual trauma within the broader structures of authoritarian power and colonial violence. The narrative foregrounds women’s participation in anti-fascist resistance and challenges the historical marginalization of their experiences. By linking past repression to contemporary political anxieties, the chapter reflects on memory, impunity, and the fragility of democratic institutions. As both testimony and political intervention, the text contributes to critical debates on historical memory, gendered resistance, and the ethical imperative to confront authoritarian legacies in the present.
O femeie portugheză. Între amintirile dictaturii coloniale/fasciste și neliniștea prezentului (II)
O femeie portugheză. Între amintirile dictaturii coloniale/fasciste și neliniștea prezentului (II)
(A Portuguese Woman: Between the Memories of Colonial–Fascist Dictatorship and the Anxiety of the Present (II))
- Author(s):Inês Melo
- Language:Romanian
- Subject(s):History, Literary Texts, Cultural history
- Page Range:21-27
- No. of Pages:7
- Keywords:anti‑fascist memory; political repression; civic education; democratic consciousness; theatre pedagogy;
- Summary/Abstract:This chapter reflects on the transmission of anti-fascist memory across generations, examining how the experiences of political repression are reactivated through contemporary artistic and pedagogical practices. Written from the perspective of a post-dictatorship generation, the text engages with the testimony of former political prisoners to question how democratic values are remembered, taught, and embodied today. Through performance, cultural mediation, and dialogue with young audiences, the chapter explores theatre as a tool for civic education, critical thinking, and resistance to the resurgence of authoritarian and populist discourses. By connecting historical memory with present-day political anxieties, the contribution argues for the urgent role of art and education in sustaining democratic consciousness and collective responsibility.
De la perioada interbelică, la „Zorii de Aur”: Trei întâlniri cu fascismul
De la perioada interbelică, la „Zorii de Aur”: Trei întâlniri cu fascismul
(From the Interwar Period to “Golden Dawn”: Three Encounters with Fascism)
- Author(s):Tina Giannouli
- Language:Romanian
- Subject(s):History, Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Cultural history, Political history
- Page Range:29-35
- No. of Pages:7
- Keywords:fascism; authoritarianism; historical memory; extremist ideologies; active citizenship;
- Summary/Abstract:This chapter offers a historical and analytical overview of fascism through three critical moments in modern Greek history: the interwar rise of European fascism, the Nazi occupation of Greece, and the military junta of 1967–1974, concluding with the contemporary case of the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn. By identifying recurring political, economic, and social conditions that enable authoritarian movements, the chapter argues that fascism should be understood not only as a historical regime but as a recurring political method. Combining historical analysis with civic reflection, the text emphasizes the role of propaganda, economic interests, and institutional fragility in the normalization of extremist ideologies. The chapter ultimately underscores the importance of historical memory, critical education, and active citizenship as essential tools in resisting fascism and safeguarding democratic societies in the present.
Scurtă prezentare a formațiunilor și personalităților politice antifasciste interbelice, provenite din zona democratică, legală/autorizată
Scurtă prezentare a formațiunilor și personalităților politice antifasciste interbelice, provenite din zona democratică, legală/autorizată
(A Brief Overview of Interwar Antifascist Political Groups and Figures from the Democratic and Legal Sphere)
- Author(s):Mihai Burcea
- Language:Romanian
- Subject(s):History, Cultural history, Political history
- Page Range:37-45
- No. of Pages:9
- Keywords:democratic antifascism; interwar Romania; political repression; civic engagement; ultranationalism;
- Summary/Abstract:This chapter provides a concise historical overview of antifascist political groups and individuals active in interwar Romania within the democratic and legally authorized political sphere. Focusing on social-democratic, socialist, and progressive liberal actors, the text documents forms of public opposition to ultranationalism and fascism expressed through parliamentary activity, journalism, legal advocacy, and civic engagement. By mapping a wide range of political figures, intellectuals, and organizations, the chapter highlights the structural constraints faced by democratic antifascism in a context marked by political repression, censorship, and the gradual erosion of constitutional order. Rather than offering an exhaustive account, the contribution functions as a critical reference framework that foregrounds the diversity, fragility, and ethical significance of democratic resistance to fascism in interwar Romania.
Obiectele din oglindă sunt mai aproape decât par. Neo-legionarism în România
Obiectele din oglindă sunt mai aproape decât par. Neo-legionarism în România
(Objects in the Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear. Neo-Legionary Movements in Romania)
- Author(s):Adina Marincea
- Language:Romanian
- Subject(s):History, Political history, Special Historiographies:, Fascism, Nazism and WW II
- Page Range:47-51
- No. of Pages:5
- Keywords:neo‑Legionary movements; far‑right extremism; historical revisionism; Orthodox nationalism; democratic vulnerability;
- Summary/Abstract:This chapter analyzes the contemporary resurgence of neo-Legionary movements in Romania, situating them within a broader European and global rise of far-right extremism. Drawing on recent political developments, journalistic investigations, and historical analysis, the text examines how fascist symbols, narratives, and practices are rehabilitated through political parties, religious institutions, and civic organizations. Particular attention is paid to the role of historical revisionism, the instrumentalization of Orthodox Christianity, and the persistent failure of state institutions to enforce legislation against fascist propaganda. The chapter argues that neo-Legionary activism represents not a marginal phenomenon but a structural threat to democratic values, fueled by political complicity, social inequality, and institutional decay. By foregrounding the continuity between interwar fascism and its contemporary reconfigurations, the contribution calls for a renewed, explicit, and uncompromising antifascist response.
Fiecare luptă cu armele pe care le are
Fiecare luptă cu armele pe care le are
(Each Fights with the Weapons They Have)
- Author(s):Mihaela Michailov
- Language:Romanian
- Subject(s):History, Literary Texts, Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Drama
- Page Range:53-59
- No. of Pages:7
- Keywords:recuperative theatre; feminist antifascism; historical memory; documentary dramaturgy; embodied storytelling;
- Summary/Abstract:This chapter examines Oppositions. Recuperative Theatre as a practice-based research project situated at the intersection of performance, historical memory, and feminist antifascist politics. Drawing on three theatrical works developed at the Replika Educational Theatre Center, the text explores how performative engagement with archives, testimonies, and lived experience can recuperate marginalized histories of women’s resistance to fascism. Through documentary dramaturgy, educational interventions, and participatory methodologies, the project reframes theatre as a space of political counter-narratives and affective transmission. The chapter argues that recuperative theatre operates as a form of symbolic reparation, activating collective memory and critical reflection in response to contemporary resurgences of far-right ideologies. By foregrounding embodied storytelling and feminist perspectives, the contribution highlights theatre’s capacity to transform historical knowledge into a shared, mobilizing experience.
LUPTA CONTINUĂ!
LUPTA CONTINUĂ!
(The Struggle Continues!)
- Author(s):Mihaela Michailov
- Language:Romanian
- Subject(s):History, Literary Texts, Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Drama
- Page Range:61-71
- No. of Pages:10
- Keywords:antifascist resistance; gendered repression; political testimony; recuperative memory; ethical witnessing;
- Summary/Abstract:The Struggle Continues! is a documentary monologue based on the autobiographical novel I Was Eighteen by antifascist activist Ecaterina Lazăr. The text reconstructs, through an embodied first-person narrative, the trajectory of a young working-class woman who becomes involved in antifascist resistance during the Second World War and is subsequently arrested, tortured, and sentenced to death. Combining personal memory with political testimony, the monologue foregrounds gendered experiences of repression, motherhood in captivity, and survival under extreme conditions. By transforming archival and autobiographical material into performative speech, the text functions as an act of recuperative memory and ethical witnessing, asserting the continued relevance of antifascist struggle in the present.
TREI.TRÊS.TRIA.
TREI.TRÊS.TRIA.
(THREE. TRÊS. TRIA.)
- Author(s):Mihaela Michailov, Radu Apostol
- Language:Romanian
- Subject(s):History, Literary Texts, Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Drama
- Page Range:73-111
- No. of Pages:73
- Keywords:autobiographical performance; ideological education; authoritarian regimes; feminist resistance; transnational memory;
- Summary/Abstract:THREE. TRÊS. TRIA. is an autobiographical performance text developed from the personal stories of three actresses from Romania, Greece, and Portugal. Through parallel narratives of schooling, family life, and artistic formation under different authoritarian regimes, the work explores how education functions as a site of ideological control, resistance, and identity formation. Combining documentary material, personal testimony, and performative reflection, the text connects micro-histories with broader political contexts, addressing dictatorship, censorship, gender norms, and civic disobedience. Multilingual and transnational in structure, the piece positions theatre as a pedagogical space where memory is activated, questioned, and shared. By foregrounding lived experience and collective authorship, THREE. TRÊS. TRIA. reflects on the role of art and education in shaping critical consciousness across generations and borders.
