Lowlands by Herta Müller, Open Rehearsal (Romania)

Written by: Herta Müller

Adapted for stage by: Mihaele Panainte

Translated by: Dr Jozefina Komporaly

Directed by: Ana Margineanu

A true work in progress, developing as the festival unfolds, Lowlands is first presented as a staged reading on May 17 and as a workshop production on June 23. Lowlands is a haunting depiction of the moral decomposition of the terminal years of communism seen through the eyes of a child from the German minority of Romania. It is based on a text by the Nobel Prize-winning writer Herta Müller, born in Romania in the sizeable German (Schwaben) ethnic group of Banat Region. The play offers a poignant portrayal of life under the repressive regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu and, using both poetry and frankness to convey the harsh realities of the time, captures the malaise of an existence suffocated by the constraints of both a dictatorship and a closed off community. It will be followed by a talk between Ana Margineanu, the director of the stage reading and Dorian Branea, RCINY’s director, on topics related to the play.

The play features Annabel McConnachie, Susie K. Taylor, Calaine Schafer, Miguel Loyola, and Vas Eli.

This is a first rehearsal, open to the public, for a fully staged workshop of the play which will be shown at the main festival on June 23.