French-Belgian writer and playwright Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt will perform Doamna Pylinska și secretul lui Chopin (Madame Pylinska and the Secret of Chopin) at Grivița 53 Theatre in Bucharest on October 21 and 22. He will be joined on stage by pianist Nicolas Stavy in the production directed by Pascal Faber.
Inspired by Schmitt’s novel of the same name, the performance draws on one of the author’s most personal stories. It follows an eccentric piano teacher and a student seeking to understand Chopin, using music to explore mentorship, self-discovery and the lessons that cannot be learned from books.
One day earlier, on October 20, Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt will attend the Romanian production of the play, directed by Chris Simion-Mercurian and starring Emilia Popescu and Luca Rusu. The show premiered in June and is part of the Grivița 53 repertoire.
Schmitt previously supported the independent Bucharest theatre while it was still under construction. After presenting Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran at the Undercloud Independent Theatre Festival in 2023, he donated his fee to the Grivița 53 project.
The theatre was subsequently completed with support from approximately 14,000 contributors. Located at 53 Calea Griviței, it was developed as an independent cultural venue through community funding.
The October 21 and 22 performances begin at 19:00. Tickets are available through Bilet.ro, with additional information published on the Grivița 53 website.
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