The last days of Elena and Nicolae Ceaușescu

In the new original text by Julia Holewińska, „The Last Days of Elena and Nicolae Ceaușescu”, the creators look at the twilight of the Romanian leaders’ dictatorship. The drama shows the fall of the overlords and traces the stages in which they go from being gods to prisoners and eventually perish

In December 1989, Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena saw what was happening on the streets and how the demonstrators were reacting to the sight of them. Still, they did not allow themselves to think that the public was turning against them. According to both of them, their situation resulted from a betrayal. Until the very last moment, Ceauşescu rejected the accusation that they had driven the country into hunger and misery; instead, pointing to the successes they had achieved. The performance’s creators are also interested in the fate and behavior of those who accompanied the couple in their final hours.

Our ideas about war and the philosophical discourses of the second half of the 20th century have lost meaning. Francis Fukuyama’s famous concept proclaiming the end of history today sounds like history’s giggle.

Today, the entire democratic world is waiting for the overthrow of Vladimir Putin. Thirty-three years ago, the world’s focus was on Romania and the fall of the governments of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu. The final days of their dictatorship and the subsequent televised execution reshaped the perception of the revolution, solidifying the undeniable nature of the event in the media.

This production contains loud sound effects (such as gunshots). People sensitive to this type of sound effects are advised to keep caution.

The performance uses the aria "What Power Art Thou" from the opera "King Arthur" by Henery Purcell, arranged by Radosław Duda, and the poem "The God Abandons Antony" by Konstantinos Kavafis, translated by Zygmunt Kubiak.

The performance received the patronage of the Romanian Cultural Institute.

The performance is participating in the 30. OKnWPSW competition.