By Mad Forest dramaturg, Hannah Hessel (@hanvnah)
From the program for Mad Forest
On the plain where Bucharest now stands there used to be “a large forest crossed by small muddy streams…It could only be crossed on foot and was impenetrable for the foreigner who did not know the paths…The horsemen of the steppe were compelled to go round it, and this difficulty, which irked them so, is shown by the name… Teleorman – Mad Forest.”
– A Concise History of Romania
The late 1980s were a time of political uprooting in Eastern Europe. Many countries, under Communist rule, were suddenly making changes towards democracy. In many of these places the changes came out of organization and order; the steps can be understood and followed. This was not the case in Romania. In 1989 the revolution took people by surprise. It wasn’t that the people weren’t interested in change, or hadn’t expected it at some point, but the violence, suddenness and bloodiness of the revolt was stunning. It was in that sudden aftermath that playwright Caryl Churchill and director Mark Wing-Davey visited, explored and imaginatively recorded the world they saw.
Romania, under Communist rule since the late 1940s, was ruled by Nicolae Ceausescu, the general party secretary. He ruled as a dictator creating harsh rules and a society built around paranoid fear. The party line was one of dedication to Ceausescu, highlighting his love and devotion to the Romanian people. Economically the people were suffering. In the early Eighties Ceausescu had enforced food rationing. The official monthly ration contained just over two pounds of flour, sugar and meat, one pound margarine, and five eggs. There was never a guarantee that food would be available in the shops. The unhappiness and oppression of the people existed as a bubbling under the surface. It was as if everyone in the country was waiting and no one was acting. When it did start, it happened suddenly and with such quick rage that it is difficult for historians looking back on it to track. Just a couple of years following the revolution a poll was taken of the Romanian population asking if they felt that the events of December 1989 were indeed a revolution, only 46% felt that it was. A similar poll taken in 1999 had the results at 49%.
The atmosphere in Bucharest post-revolution was one of relief and confusion when Churchill, Wing-Davey, a designer and 10 student actors arrived at the end of March 1990. They listened, questioned, observed and explored the city. On returning Churchill compiled the research and wrote Mad Forest.
