Ioana Dobrescu, a well-known actress, is diagnosed with dementia. Her son, Cristi, chooses to return home to care for her, neglecting his own life. Ioana’s illness is faced by the two with humour and courage, yet it raises questions about care, love, and dignity.
“This story was born out of fear. A fear with no solution: fear of death, of forgetting, of responsibility. The kind of fear I like to provoke, one I deliberately sank into, because it fascinates me. Dementia itself fascinates me—how it distorts time, how it erases the boundary between the self and nothingness, between a person and emptiness. There is something poetic about it, with great metaphorical potential. But it also involves a great deal of moral dilemmas. Up to what point is human life the supreme value? Is it fair for someone to be forced to live when they no longer want to? How can one negotiate with the absence of discernment? Is it right for the responsibility of one’s own life to fall onto someone else? I hope that, in this territory of confusion and anguish, we managed to find a bit of light, without betraying the truth. I hope love can be sensed beyond the tragedy. While working on this performance, I thought a lot about my grandmother, my other grandmother, my mother, and myself as a son. I wouldn’t want to be in my characters’ shoes, but if I ever end up there, I hope I will be as brave as they are.” - Cosmin Stănilă
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