THE BLACKSMITHS
National Theatre Bucharest - "Ion Caramitru" Hall
February 17, 2025, 8:00 PM
Under various titles, the play "The Blacksmiths" by Milos Nikolic has featured in the repertoire of several theaters both within the country and abroad. The director of the show, Horațiu Mălăele, seems to be "in love" with this play in which he naturally also plays the leading role.
The original text of the playwright Milos Nikolic, born in Kosovo in 1939, tells the story of a German blacksmith who after a long time discovers that his son is the child of a Romanian. Horațiu Mălăele adapts the subject, and the blacksmith Grigorie is a Romanian who discovers that his son is the child of the Hungarian Peter, who finds out that his own son has as father the Russian Ivan, and Ivan discovers that his own son belongs to... Grigorie! This genetic confusion is the consequence of the war because all the men, blacksmiths by trade, were also soldiers on the front. The underlying theme of the play is highlighted through suggestions relating to the consequences of war and the false proclamation of nationalism which becomes a "doctrine" for some current European parties. The comedy is commendably written by Milos Nikolic and gives the audience the mishap-induced humor of the three men of different nationalities who find out that their sons have, in fact, another nationality genetically.
The adaptation by changing the nationality of some characters is, however, fragile. The wives are represented in the text only by Matilda, the wife of the Romanian Grigorie, who claims that the women did not cheat on their husbands, they just wanted the trade of blacksmiths to have descendants. Matilda's argument is historically based, as after farmers and shepherds, blacksmiths serve one of the oldest professions, even attested in the Bible. These remain the fundamental professions of common people. In today's world, however, Matilda's desire for the continuity of the trade fails because the sons, say their fathers, are no longer blacksmiths, and have chosen other professions. Horațiu Mălăele’s adaptation uses the translation signed by Veronica Lăzăreanu, abundant in trivial accents.
The scenographer Maria Miu, who previously illustrated this play at another theater, with her recognized talent, constructs a blacksmith workshop on stage in detail with objects specific to the trade, complemented by those from the household of simple people. The decor is charming and functionally designed to diversify stage movement. The director Horațiu Mălăele develops the story of the three men with humor, excelling in the comedy domain. The show lasts for an hour and ten minutes, out of which five minutes are spent at the beginning of the performance with Grigorie searching through the blacksmith shop with a flashlight, naturally in the dark, for "something", though these absurd searches find no consolidated purpose in the subsequent actions.
The four actors remarkably fulfill the roles assigned to them. Maia Morgenstern as Matilda, Grigorie's wife, plays an excellent role. The actress vividly portrays Matilda's struggle to convince her husband that she did not cheat on him during the four years he was on the front in Russia, complemented by the emotion of reuniting with Peter. Again, Maia Morgenstern proves herself to be an actress of rare complexity and can credibly approach both the comedic and dramatic genres.
Horațiu Mălăele intricately constructs the character of Grigorie, a simple man trying to untangle the threads stirred by Peter’s arrival in his family. The actor handles the situation dramatically and, obviously, the result is comedic. With a timid Hungarian accent, George Mihăiță presents Peter experiencing the intense emotion of reuniting with Matilda, but also the complicated situation of the revelations. Ivan's final intervention is admirably performed by Valentin Teodosiu, through his stature and the sustaining of relationships with those he encounters. The four actors meritously depict the story of the skillful blacksmiths, simple people to whom the war left... marks, as it did with many other simple people living today in another, confused world.
"The Blacksmiths" offers a comedic opportunity to the audience, who should then reflect when prideful of their origins... in Dacians and Romans. The show remains merely a successful exercise in amusement...
