Moldovan playwright Dumitru Crudu presents his show for the first time Requiem for Boutcha. A poetic theatrical performance on the murders of civilians committed in Ukraine. Meet.
” In front of the staircase, young people will be lying on the ground, their hands tied, to interpret the victims of the atrocities suffered in Boutcha says Dumitru Crudu, a few meters from the Mihai-Eminescu National Theater in Chisinau, the Moldavian capital. It is there that is held, this Monday, May 9, the premiere of his new play. The 57-year-old Romanian playwright, round face covered with a graying beard, wants to tell the war in Ukraine as close to reality as possible. ” So that the spectator has the impression of entering the homes of persecuted civilians he says.
” The images and the level of cruelty of the Russian troops in this city marked me a lot », resumes Dumitru Crudu calmly. He thus justifies the name of his work, Requiem for Boutchaas a tribute to the civilians found massacred after the departure of the Russian forces from this locality located in the western suburbs of kyiv.
Actors, dancers, light effects and broadcasts of images of war on the big screen… The scenography completes a story of violence in poems. This play was written by Romanian, Moldavian and Ukrainian authors, one of whom lived in Boutcha before the war. ” I wanted to mix all these poems under the same umbrella “, he details.
This lyrical tale reminds us that the fighting is still raging. ” We don’t know what the future will be, that’s why the show also contains elements of fear, worry, anxiety “, describes this professor of letters.
But the play does not stop at Boutcha. From the massive bombardment of Mariupol to the capture of Kherson, it was built as the Russian advance in Ukraine progressed. ” Depending on the events that took place, we wrote a poem on the subject “, he relates.
” victory day »
This long-term work began on February 24, the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in a writing workshop for young poets in the capital led by Dumitru Crudu. While none of the authors expected to see their work one day on stage, the first public performance is scheduled for May 9.
” The choice of this date is not trivial », explains Dimutru Crudu. As every year on this day, Russia commemorates the capitulation of Nazi Germany. In the eyes of Vladimir Putin, it is also a pretext to glorify the country and exalt Russian patriotism. This year, especially, the show of force is essential to hide the stagnation of its army in Ukraine.
” This is all propaganda », Comments the Moldavian director who, on the contrary, wishes to demystify what Moscow calls « victory in the Great Patriotic War “. “ In reality, victory belongs to all the Allies who fought against fascism “, he continues.
” dark realism »
Through his show, he intends to address pro-Russian Moldovans. ” Many are victims of Kremlin manipulation and disinformation “, he judges. Before recounting having been insulted by some of his compatriots when he protested against the war during a rally in front of the Russian embassy in Chisinau. Accompanied by his wife, a Russian “he specifies, he brandished a sign on which was written:” Putin = Hitler “.
The playwright then takes the example of Russia, where any dissonant voice is suppressed: “ There, those who dare to speak the truth can be abused, or even worse. “. For him, the role of art and creation, like his play Requiem for Boutchais to act as a bulwark against authoritarianism and to show that we are standing up, that we are not giving up “. “ The Russian power is more afraid of true stories, told by journalists or artists, than of a military response “, he argues.
At a time when some are saying that Moldova could be Vladimir Putin’s next target, Dimutru Crudu talks about the war ” as if present in Moldova “. ” Even if we are not militarily attacked “, he tempers. She has already influenced her way of writing: her new prose texts are directly inspired by realistic events of the conflict. A ” black realism “.
This war, he says, will radically change the world. ” Literature too », warns the director. And to sigh: I still wonder how Russia, which gave birth to a Tolstoy or a Dostoyevsky, is capable of committing such horrors. »
► To read also: Moldova: the Russian invasion of Ukraine puts the economy in pain