In an occurrence we may see more of in both Romania and other European countries hit by the coronavirus epidemic, the Marosvásárhely/Târgu Mureș theater will stream Friday’s performance of The Seagull by Anton Chekhov live on Facebook.
The move was made after the Romanian government, in an effort to halt the spread of the coronavirus, banned all public gatherings of over 1,000 persons and left those with more than 100 people at the discretionary approval of the local health authorities. Subsequently, the theater announced that it will cancel all performances until the end of the ban – which is now expected to be March 22 but may be extended – and that it will buy back or exchange tickets for a later date.
“(Director) Attila Keresztes’ The Seagull will be available to the public via a live Facebook stream, meaning viewers can enjoy the novel theatrical experience in a novel way, from the safety of their own homes and in perfect sanitary conditions,” the theater says on its website. With the other performances canceled, it was unclear why they chose this particular piece to livestream, with a total of 21 performances scheduled for the duration of the nationwide ban.
The first Romanian theater to switch to live streaming after the ban was Unteatru, a popular independent company in the capital Bucharest.
At the time of writing, Romania had 37 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with six patients having recovered so far and no casualties.
Title image: The Seagull by Anton Chekhov, a performance by the Tompa Miklós Theater (image: Zoltán Rab)
