Under various titles, the play "The Blacksmiths" by Milos Nikolic has served in the repertoire of several theaters both in the country and abroad. The director of the show, Horațiu Mălăele, seems to be "in love" with this play in which, of course, he also plays the main role.
The original text by 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 son has the Russian Ivan as his father, and Ivan finds out that his son belongs to ... Grigorie! This genetic confusion is the consequence of the war, as all the men, blacksmiths by trade, were also soldiers on the front. The underlying theme of the play is generous with suggestions referring to the consequences of war and the false trumpet of nationalism that has become "doctrine" for some current European parties. The comedy is skillfully written by Milos Nikolic and provides the audience with humorous misfortunes of the three men of different nationalities who find out that their sons have, in fact, another nationality.
The adaptation by changing the nationality of some characters is, however, weak. Wives are represented in the text only by Matilda, the wife of the Romanian Grigorie, who argues that women did not cheat on their husbands, they only wanted the blacksmith guild to have heirs. Matilda's argument, conceived by the playwright on the historical basis that after farmers and shepherds, blacksmiths serve as one of the oldest professions attested even in the Bible. These remain the basic professions of simple people. In today's world, however, Matilda's desire to perpetuate the guild fails because, as their fathers say, the sons are no longer blacksmiths, they have chosen other professions. Horațiu Mălăele's adaptation uses the translation signed by Veronica Lăzăreanu, rich in trivial accents.
Set designer Maria Miu, who has illustrated this play at another theater with her recognized talent, constructs on stage a blacksmith workshop in detail with objects specific to the trade, complemented by those from the household of simple people. The decor is enchanting and functionally designed to diversify stage movement. Director Horațiu Mălăele humorously develops the story of the three men, excelling in the domain of comedy. The show lasts one hour and ten minutes, with five minutes consumed in the debut of the performance by Grigorie's searches through the blacksmith shop with a flashlight in the dark, naturally, for "something", these absurd searches do not however, find a consolidated reason in the upcoming action.
Remarkably, the four actors fulfill the characters assigned to them. Maia Morgenstern in Matilda, Grigorie's wife, performs excellently. The actress credibly develops Matilda's inner struggle to convince her husband that she did not cheat on him during the four years he was on the front in Russia, completed also with the emotion of re-encountering Peter. Again, Maia Morgenstern demonstrates that she is an actress of rare complexity and can convincingly approach both comic and dramatic genres.
Horațiu Mălăele subtly builds the character Grigorie, a simple man who tries to unravel the threads caused by Peter's arrival in his family. The actor dramatically treats the situation, and evidently, the result is comic. With a timid Hungarian accent in speech, George Mihăiță presents Peter experiencing intensely the emotion of re-encountering Matilda, but also the complicated situation of revelations. The final intervention by Ivan is admirably realized by Valentin Teodosiu, through his stance and sustaining relationships with those he meets. The four actors meritously portray the story of the worthy blacksmiths, simple people to whom the war left ... marks, just as it did to many other simple people living today in a different world, confused in its manifestations.
"The Blacksmiths" offers the public a comedic occasion that should make them think when they proudly say their genesis lies in ... Dacians and Romans. The show remains only a successful exercise in amusement ...
