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Why the Child is Cooking in the Polenta

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"Edith Alibec's performance is beyond revelatory" (The Upcoming)

A bridge between reality and fiction, Edith Alibec’s multi-award-winning adaptation of Aglaja Veteranyi’s autobiographical book follows a family of circus artists who flee the Communist regime in Romania in the hope of establishing a better life in the West.

Among the caravans and the circus tents a family are caught between two worlds: the colorful, transfiguring high-top where the mother performs her death-defying stunts and the harsher reality of a nomadic life, where home is only to be found in your mother’s cooking.

Told from the perspective of the youngest child, this lyrical darkly comic tale is the story of a family always on the road and always the foreigners.

With the ability to be staged in three different languages (English, German and Romanian), this versatile production has previously been performed in Bucharest, Zurich, New York, Stockholm and Germany. It will be performed in English at the Gate Theatre.​

Winner of the 2018 Bacău Fest Trophy, Actors for Actor Trophy and the Ştefan Iordache Onorific Prize.

Trigger warnings:

The show contains references to a fire-related incident and descriptions of violence that some viewers may find distressing.
The show contains flashing lights.

Watch the trailer:

Background:

Edith Alibec witnessed the refugee crisis in Germany first-hand, as she met with refugees and visited their social camps. Her adaptation seeks to highlight the vulnerability in being forced to leave home and trying to find a new place in the world:

“I lived in Germany for three years, and in the first few months I did not find my place and I started to idealize my home country, Romania. At the same time, the refugee crisis in Germany grew and I wondered how it must feel for them...They're being forced to flee their home and live in a foreign country, exactly like the play’s heroine. This show was born out of my need to talk about what does it feel like to not have a home.”

Read the blog from Edith Alibec on how she produced the award-winning play.

 

Get Tickets

Wednesday 1 May - Saturday 4 May 7:30pm

Cast & CREATIVES

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Edith alibec
Edith Alibec

Edith Alibec finished her acting studies in Bucharest, Romania. She then worked alongside the renown theatre director David Esrig on the play “The Chioggia Scuffles” at the Athanor Akademie in Passau, Germany. While there, she benefited from trainings with Ros Steen (Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts Scotland), Walter Anichofer (Jacques Lecoq School), and Yves Marc (Theatre du Movement, Paris).

In 2016 her first play as a producer and an actress, 'Why the Child is Cooking in the Polenta’, premiered in Munich, Germany. It was supported by The Cultural Department of the City of Munich. The play can be staged in German, Romanian and English. 

Productions followed at Cabaret Voltaire in Zürich (2016), in New York (United Solo Festival 2017), Passau (2016), Bucharest (several venues, 2016 - present), Stockholm (2018). It was supported by the Romanian Cultural Institute Vienna/London/Stockholm, Goethe-Institute Bucharest and the City of Passau’s Cultural Department. 

The production won all 3 prizes at the biggest festival for one man/woman shows in Romania, Bacau Monodrama Festival 2018 and has received stellar reviews all around. More details and reviews here: and here www.facebook.com/whythechild/reviews.

A run of 5 performances of the show will also be staged at The Gate Theatre in Notting Hill, London, between May 1st and May 4th 2019. It will be performed in English. This run also marks her first successful Arts Council Grantium application.

In 2018 she collaborated with the renown film director Cristi Puiu on his latest feature film, “Malmkrog” (working title), both as an actor and researcher. In May 2019 she will film one of the secondary roles in the movie “The Night’s Patrol” by Josef Demian. Currently, she also develops other 3 theatre projects as a producer and an actor.

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Dana Paraschiv – Director
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Vincent Kling – English Translator
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A full house laughed and bitterly wept in front of this endearing and unique story.
Irina Cornisteanu, Director Romanian Cultural Institute, Vienna
Edith Alibec is an extraordinary acting phenomenon. I was moved to tears in the final scene.
Andrea Siering, Spectator in Zuerich
Poetically staged with a brilliant, transformative, actress.
Sonja Caruso,Teacher

The Gate Theatre thanks the Romanian Cultural Institute for their kind support of this show. This production has also been supported by Arts Council England.

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“Edith Alibec’s performance is beyond revelatory” (The Upcoming)

A bridge between reality and fiction, Edith Alibec’s multi-award-winning adaptation of Aglaja Veteranyi’s autobiographical book follows a family of circus artists who flee the Communist regime in Romania in the hope of establishing a better life in the West.

Among the caravans and the circus tents a family are caught between two worlds: the colorful, transfiguring high-top where the mother performs her death-defying stunts and the harsher reality of a nomadic life, where home is only to be found in your mother’s cooking.

Told from the perspective of the youngest child, this lyrical darkly comic tale is the story of a family always on the road and always the foreigners.

With the ability to be staged in three different languages (English, German and Romanian), this versatile production has previously been performed in Bucharest, Zurich, New York, Stockholm and Germany. It will be performed in English at the Gate Theatre.​

Winner of the 2018 Bacău Fest Trophy, Actors for Actor Trophy and the Ştefan Iordache Onorific Prize.

Trigger warnings:

The show contains references to a fire-related incident and descriptions of violence that some viewers may find distressing.
The show contains flashing lights.

Watch the trailer:

Background:

Edith Alibec witnessed the refugee crisis in Germany first-hand, as she met with refugees and visited their social camps. Her adaptation seeks to highlight the vulnerability in being forced to leave home and trying to find a new place in the world:

“I lived in Germany for three years, and in the first few months I did not find my place and I started to idealize my home country, Romania. At the same time, the refugee crisis in Germany grew and I wondered how it must feel for them…They’re being forced to flee their home and live in a foreign country, exactly like the play’s heroine. This show was born out of my need to talk about what does it feel like to not have a home.”

Read the blog from Edith Alibec on how she produced the award-winning play.

 

The Gate Theatre Company is a company limited by guarantee registered in England & Wales No. 1495543 – Charity No. 280278