An allegory about the human condition
With a unique expressiveness in the universal dramaturgy canon, "Oh, What a Beautiful Day!" excellently synthesizes the major themes of Beckett's literature: the act of waiting, loneliness, the impossibility of escaping the chains of reality.
Prematurely aged, in the midst of a barren world, a transitional space between two forms of (non)existence, Winnie and Willie embody not only physical decrepitude, but also the spiritual degradation of a universe abandoned by any divine presence. Melancholic, poetic, and finely tinged with touches of humor and self-irony, the text is a meditation on old age, memory, relentless time, life, and happiness. This paradox, so typical of the Irish author, synthesizes and condemns the audience's preconceptions. The tragedy of Beckett's characters is, in fact, the everyday tragedy, the infinite cyclicity of a mechanized time, a life that we forget to live. Beckett's incurable pessimism, however, hides a much more subtle force, namely the belief that beyond this part of the world, a total escape can be glimpsed.
Mariana Cămărășan's production materializes precisely on this border, between everyday despair and the impossibility of creating an inter-human connection on the one hand, and the fantastic projections of a (alternative) paradise on the other. Built like a musical box populated by characters who mechanically perform the same gestures over and over again, the performance emanates a vibrant light, a familiar atmosphere, but also a bittersweet fragrance. Mariana Mihu-Plier and Daniel Plier recreate a true choreography of daily rituals, capturing with naive amazement the fleeting beauty of those seemingly insignificant moments that make us human.