We are proud to present, in co-production with Red Monkey Theater Group, the world premiere of "Exile Is My Home", a showcase of scenes based on four plays by award-wining feminist author and educator Domnica Rădulescu, one of the most accomplished Romanian-American writers. Hailed as "breath-taking in their imaginative scope" (Christine Evans) and written with brilliant skill and wild imagination, Domnica’s irreverent and utterly original examination of immigration is brought to the stage by an energetic artistic ensemble helmed by director Rachel Tamarin.
The showcase will be presented within RCI's "Romanian American Studio Theater" program on April 8 - RSVPHERE
with a rerun, as part of the ”Rehearsal for Truth” Festival, at the Bohemian National Hall on April 11 - RSVPHERE.
Both performances will be followed by talkbacks with Domnica Rădulescu and Rachel Tamarin.
"The beautiful and welcoming theatrical spaces of the Romanian Cultural Institute and of the Bohemian National Hall in New York are perfect locations for the showcase premiere of four of my plays gathered in the volume Exile Is My Home. Four Plays by Domnica Rădulescu and I couldn’t be more thrilled about these productions. As a creative artist who arrived in the United States in the eighties as a political refugee from the then Communist dictatorship of Romania, my plays emerge largely from my experience of and obsession with the immigrant experience, loss, dislocation, uprooting, re-rooting, as well as genocidal wars, all while portraying these experiences from the perspective of empowered and complex female characters and through the lens of modern feminisms. Unfortunately, these themes and their treatment are now even more relevant given the present war in Ukraine and the general state of the world. I am particularly grateful to the brilliant director Rachel Tamarin for undertaking the difficult task of directing scenes from not one, not two but fours different plays and for her deep understanding of the universes created in these plays, for her visual and visceral directorial vision that matches my own in a very harmonious way. And of course I am grateful to all the wonderful actors and crew members who are bringing to life these strange universes." - Domnica Rădulescu, author
"In each play in this collection, Domnica Rădulescu has created a fantastical, imaginative universe, each so different, yet astutely and insightfully capturing the challenges and triumphs faced by immigrants and refugees. I firmly believe that an artist’s greatest responsibility is to cultivate empathy and a deeper understanding of the human experience within their work, and Domnica’s plays provide our cast and creative team with the opportunity to fulfill this goal, in abundance. The absurdist nature of the plays and the larger-than-life characters Domnica has created for us offer the cast and me endless opportunities to push our creative boundaries and to break out of our comfort zones. Considering the war in Ukraine and the violence that the United States continues to perpetrate against immigrants, particularly Latin American immigrants, seeking refuge within our country’s borders, these stories are sadly even more relevant than when they were first written, and more important than ever to tell. I am so incredibly grateful to Domnica for trusting me with her amazing scripts, and for offering our cast and creative team this incredible opportunity for play and for artistic growth. I hope to honor her and our audiences at the Romanian Cultural Institute and Bohemian National Hall as we breathe life into these beautiful and deeply compelling stories." - Rachel Tamarin, director
