New theater venue opens in Bucharest

Apollo111 is a new theater venue in Bucharest, set to open starting November 25^th. The theater is open in the B section of the Universul Palace in the capital.

The theater, which will have a new artistic director each season, will stage productions for both grownups and children. “We want to be an alternative to state-financed theaters and cultural institutions and we are looking for an organic growth. We create art by running this project on the basis of a business model based on our own financing,” theater representatives say.

The founders of Apolo111 are actor Bogdan Dumitrache; Cătălin Rusu, CEO of Rusu+Borțun; director Călin-Peter Netzer; and film producer Dragoș Vîlcu.

For the first year the artistic director of Apollo111 will be one of its founders, actor Bogdan Dumitrache. He will be followed the second year by director Radu Afrim and the third year by a playwright. During its first running year it will show five productions, each of them staged for only six weeks. If one production is sold-out, it will be rescheduled after several months for another two or, at most, four weeks.

Children aged 4 to 7 will also find a repertoire for them, with productions highlighting the magic of stories and novel visual concepts.

The theme of the first season at the theater is an interdisciplinary one, combining film and theater. The first performance is directed by Radu Jude, based on Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s text Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. The second script to be staged at Apollo11 is Sieranevada by Cristi Puiu.

Apollo111 is located in the Universul Palace, in a space offering an 850 sqm surface for performances, a theater and cinema hall with 140 seats, a hall for concerts and special events, three rehearsal halls, two casting halls and a bar.

The program and the tickets can be found here.

Photo: Apollo111 Facebook Page, the launch event.