The Premiere of UNION PLACE Is Performed in Three Languages, with an International Cast

The Radu Stanca National Theatre Sibiu will present, in September, the premiere of Union Place by Elise Wilk, directed by Cristian Ban. The production features actors from both TNRS ensembles—the Romanian and German departments—and will be performed in three languages. The premiere is scheduled for September 11, at 7:00 PM, in the Main Hall.

“I am extremely pleased that audiences in Sibiu, as well as those from other parts of the world, will soon discover a new production of the Radu Stanca National Theatre—Union Place, written by Elise Wilk, and staged by Cristian Ban, in his first collaboration with our theatre. I am confident that through this performance TNRS will once again reaffirm its ability to bring to the forefront a remarkable artistic ensemble—made up of actors from all over the world, who bring to the stage vivid fragments of the traditions, cultures, and languages of their countries of origin”, said Constantin Chiriac, General Manager of the Radu Stanca National Theatre Sibiu and President of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival.

“I chose this story because it speaks honestly, with humanity and humour, about people from three corners of Europe who are trying to connect and rediscover meaning in a world full of contradictions. I am glad and challenged to work with an international cast and that the performance will be staged in three languages. The beauty of the text written by Elise Wilk also lies in the fact that, no matter where they begin, all the stories return, in one way or another, to Romania and its past”, said Cristian Ban, director.

The stage design is by Andreea Săndulescu, and the lighting design by Cristian Niculescu. The cast includes Olga Török, Gyan Ross, Viorel Rață, Serenela Mureșan, Emőke Boldizsár, Daniel Plier, and Patrick Imbrescu.

Tickets are available for purchase at www.tnrs.ro and at the Theatre Box Office in Sibiu.

The performance will be staged in German, Romanian, and English, with translations into Romanian, German, and English.

 

Cristian Ban is a Romanian theatre director, recognized for productions developed through collective creative processes, in close collaboration with actors. He graduated in theatre directing from the Faculty of Theatre and Television at Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca. He has completed international residencies in Germany (2007) and at 7 Stages Theater in Atlanta, USA (2015/2016), and since 2024 he has been coordinating the directing master’s program at the University of Arts in Târgu Mureș. He has staged over 40 productions in theatres across Romania, including Bucharest, Timișoara, Cluj, Galați, Sfântu Gheorghe, Arad, Piatra Neamț, Brăila, Baia Mare, and Satu Mare. His productions have been selected for major Romanian theatre festivals—such as the National Theatre Festival (Bucharest), FITS (Sibiu), FestCo, FITPTI (Iași), TESZT and Fest-FDR (Timișoara), and the National Comedy Festival (Galați)—and have also been presented internationally in Germany, Poland, Hungary, Spain, and Turkey. He has received numerous awards for directing and best performance at national festivals and has earned several UNITER Award nominations, including for Best Performance, Best Director, and Best New Play Production.

 

Elise Wilk, born in 1981 in Brașov into a bilingual family, is a playwright and translator.
Her plays have been staged in numerous theatres in Romania and abroad (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Russia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Georgia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Finland, and Serbia). Her works have been translated into 15 languages and published in eight countries. She is the author of over 20 plays that have received multiple awards, most recently the Aurora Prize for Eastern European Drama, awarded in Poland in 2022 for the play Disappearances. Forbes Romania named her among the young trendsetters of 2014, and Decât o Revistă included her among the 100 People for Tomorrow’s Romania (2018). She has participated in numerous international programs, including the Young European Authors Forum at the Wiesbaden Theatre Biennale (Germany, 2014), Hot Ink at Lark Theatre in New York (2015), Fabulamundi. Playwriting Europe (2013–2020), GalataPerform Istanbul (2021), What Europe Dreams About (Belgrade, 2024), and Fabulamundi.New Voices (since 2023). She holds a PhD in Theatre and Performing Arts (University of Arts in Târgu Mureș, 2020), with a thesis on theatre for young audiences in Romania, and since 2021 she has been a university lecturer at the same institution, teaching in the Playwriting Master’s program.

 

Andreea Săndulescu graduated in 2008 from the Scenography Department of the University of Fine Arts in Bucharest (Faculty of Decorative Arts and Design). Since completing her studies, she has become a highly regarded set designer, working both in major theatres across Romania and on set designs for music videos, commercials, and concerts. Among the most notable theatre productions she has worked on are Incendies (directed by Alexandru Mâzgăreanu; Constanța State Theatre), The Great Gatsby (directed by Andrei Huțuleac; Bragadiru Palace – Bucharest), Hotel PM (directed by Andreea Gavriliu; German State Theatre), for which she received the Award for Best Scenography at the “I Plead for You(th)” Theatre Festival in 2015, The Snow Queen (directed by Rosamunde Hutt; Ion Creangă Theatre), and Thieves (directed by Radu Afrim; “I.L. Caragiale” National Theatre). Her work as a set designer for short films and music videos has also earned her accolades, including a Scenography Award at the Cinemaiubit Festival 2011 (Grand Hotel Italia, directed by Rodi Cotenescu), as well as collaborations with prominent figures in contemporary Romanian music, such as Inna, Antonia, and Deepcentral. At the Radu Stanca National Theatre Sibiu, her work includes productions by the German Section such as Quartett (directed by Hunor Horvath), Messages to the Universe (directed by Josef Maria Krasanovsky), and Yvonne (directed by Botond Nagy).