“There is always a sort of a game, more or less serious, between “on the other side” and “on this side”. Depending on the ways people see the world, wherever they are from, they imagine possible maps of the journeys between life and death. The more unknown the territory requiring a map is, the more creative the imagination of the cartographers becomes. Nobody escapes from the exercise of this personal geography. And, because this exercise can’t be skipped, because it is compulsory, it is thus the only “Olympic game” everyone participates in. Unbelievable! This could be called anything, but not a race. However, this is the most disputed competition. And when they realize what they are doing, people stop, laugh, cry and tell stories.
Among many others, I owe it entirely to Alexandru Dabija, this fascinating experience to write texts for theatre performances. For this text, I owe to Laura Jiga Iliescu, from the “Constantin Brăiloiu” Institute of Ethnography and Folklore of the Romanian Academy, the experience of reading a bunch of books that speak about how the paths between „on the other side” and „on this side” are seen from here.” (Cătălin Ștefănescu)
“The text with urban phantoms appeared accidentally, after a talk with Mr. Dabija and some encounters with a strange old lady. The songs… last summer, between readings about ghosts and ghouls stories. I love the “heartchoking” humour that the show presents. The cackles aren’t disturbed by the presence of the coffins, but death is present and allows many things from us, because, anyway, she has the final say, the final “joke” is always hers.” (Ada Milea)