20. July, 2016, 7pm
Sara Kali- The Dark Madonna
A performance by The Roma Feminist Theatre Giuvlipen
With: Mihaela Drăgan and Kristóf Horváth
Sara Kali, the mythical character, the saint not recognised by any church, was worshipped especially by Roma women over centuries for offering them strength and support. We felt the need for such protection but also the need to offer the Roma audience spiritual safeguarding and blessings when they face everyday racism, discrimination, scapegoating, sexism, homophobia and hate (what we call in the performance “the roaring lion that wishes to devour me”).
Our performance is an invocation of Sara Kali, the Roma saint: we address her about the Roma women who are facing today a double discrimination today in terms of individual and systemic racism and sexism, but also about Roma women living in traditional communities who have to deal with patriarchy within those communities (especially in the forms of early marriages and no access to education for girls). We create a sort of dialogue with the voice of the oppressor, a white male mask. It is an ever-changing performance. We first performed it in English in Vienna for Kvir_feminist_actziya Festival and then for the International Performance Association’s festival in Bucharest. Later we translated it in Romanian and adapted it a lot for a performance as part of the “Congregation of the Castoffs” hosted by the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Bucharest. In Budapest, at Gallery 8 will be performed for the first time with the Roma Hungarian actor Kristóf Horváth.
Slam Poetry with Színész Bob
Kristóf Horváth, two times National Poetry Slam Championship winner will perform classical poems and his own lyrics of slam poetry about identity and self awareness.
Mihaela Drăgan
Roma actress and playwright who lives and works in Bucharest. Her performances focus on the connection between theatre, Roma identity and social justice. In 2014, she founded Giuvlipen Theatre Company, together with other Roma actresses. Giuvlipen’s performances have a feminist agenda and are speaking about Roma women: Del Duma: Tell Them About Me (four real stories of Roma women facing early marriage), Sara Kali: The Dark Madonna, Razzing (about evictions of Roma people in Bucharest, written and performed together with evicted Roma women), Gadjo Dildo (about the hypersexualization of Roma women by non-Roma men, heteronormativity and sexuality issues in Roma communities) and Iovan (about traditional Roma families, arranged marriages and the desire of young Roma women).
Kristóf Horváth
Born in Budapest, where he lives and works. As a theatre and film actor he has been working in theatre for 15 years (Barka, Merlin and Karavan) and played e.g. in 1 hét (awarded best hungarian short film by student jury, 2004), Sturmland (shown at the Berlinale in 2014) and Gyengébb napok (awarded best short film in Hungary, 2008). Moreover, he is two times National Poetry Slam Championship winner, founder of the Knowledge is Power group, a countrywide talent education system, and leads drama courses for kids.
Here is the full text of Sara Kali. |