Kész Orsolya

The Lives of Others

Csíki Játékszín, Miercurea Ciuc

THE LIVES OF OTHERS is a documentary theatre journey into the invisible spaces of care. Based on real interviews with caregivers from Transylvania, the script reveals the lives unfolding in living rooms across Europe’s most diverse cities, in nursing homes, in the warmth of unfamiliar kitchens, and in the silence of long nights.

Through the alternation of collective and personal voices, the performance explores the many layers of the caregiving experience: at once intimate and raw, individual and collective, vulnerable and strong. The play asks what price we pay for care — in time, emotions, and presence — and, in the process, what we lose and what we discover within ourselves.

Care migration, the lack of adequate care systems at home, and the disproportionate emotional burden of care work borne by women are among the most pressing social issues in Romania and the region today. Yet this reality remains almost completely invisible in public discourse and underrepresented in the cultural sphere.

THE LIVES OF OTHERS seeks to convey the stories and perspectives of the women and men who sustain an informal network of social care across European households: day after day, they accompany other people through their everyday lives, often invisibly, yet with an indispensable presence.

CAST

Csilla Dálnoky
Bernadetta Fekete
Ágnes Márdirosz
Gellért Nagy
Jess Tóth

Director: David Schwartz
Written and edited based on interviews by: Orsolya Kész
Set and Visual Designer: Raluca Alexandrescu

Music: Szabolcs Boldizsár
Movement Direction: Dávid Dabóczi
Lighting Technician: Árpád Duka
Sound Technician: István Tordai
Poster Design: Emília Égei
Stage Manager: Noémi Kraft
Props: Kata Bakó