Petro Ionescu - bringing us a delightful mix of humor and passion as we talk about our right to the city!

This April, we are absolutely thrilled to present a brand-new premiere at Reactor – the wonderful show "Treasure City," based on a fabulous text by playwright Petro Ionescu and directed by the brilliant David Schwartz! The play was crafted following an exciting research process focusing on urban development and city dynamics that took place last year. While we eagerly await opening night, we asked Petro to share some lovely behind-the-scenes insights about how this text came to life!

When I first started researching for this show alongside the wonderful sociologist George Zamfir, I knew there were quite a few elements that would be tricky for me to fully grasp on my own. And that’s simply because I don't have a background in architecture, urban planning, economics, or sociology to capture the full, complex picture of the Cluj real estate market! That is why I absolutely needed George’s fantastic expertise as an activist and researcher on housing and urban development to "translate" certain details and bring me closer to a specialized language that wasn't always familiar. The research journey had several exciting stages, but what felt most complex—and incredibly important—was getting a clearer picture of how decisions are made and what interests come into play when something massive and high-impact is built in our city. Alongside this, I loved conducting interviews to hear the diverse perspectives of residents of all ages and social backgrounds, because I was genuinely fascinated to see how the city has transformed over time through the eyes of the people who call it home! The text went through quite a few drafts, and as much as I wanted to pack in every single fascinating nugget of info we gathered during our research phase, it was simply impossible to squeeze all that data into a single play. For instance, we looked at amazing statistics on how property ownership has evolved over the last 30 years, but that was something I perhaps couldn't quite turn into dramatic material, or maybe I just prioritized other exciting stories instead!

Back in November 2024, we held a delightful staged reading of an early version of "Treasure City," which was quite different from the final show. Even before the reading, I was a bit worried the text might feel too long, too dense, or have too many theatrical conventions, but we were so excited to test this formula with our wonderful audience! My biggest butterflies were for the debate scene—which back then was a massive, long scene, even though I had already cut it in half from the draft, and it was packed with complex information. But seeing the audience's very first reactions was incredibly helpful! We even organized a cozy feedback session after the reading, and some spectators who were already quite familiar with the topics joined in. What I found so beautiful was how the text became a wonderful spark for a lively debate about how each of us relates to our city. Plus, I remember several people warmly praising the humor and how delighted they were that such a serious topic was brought to life with a lovely touch of comedy!

That was actually our goal from the very start—to make technical information delightfully accessible through humor, and to avoid treating this topic in a heavy, gloomy way, even though it certainly has the potential to be! In my post-reading chats with David (our wonderful director), we decided to streamline the conventions and focus the story, and we were both super excited about bringing out the comedy. Ever since the research phase, I had been playfully exploring the world of stand-up comedy, because it felt like such a fun, open framework for sharing wildly different views: critical, controversial, supportive, edgy, or delightfully naive! We had so much fun exploring the spontaneous, sometimes cynical or dark humor that naturally bubbles up from conflict. What's more, we noticed there is already a thriving stand-up culture in Romania, with fantastic comedians delivering brilliant political and social commentary!

Between those who enthusiastically champion Cluj's progress and development and those who raise important concerns, you can find a mix of pride, indifference, and genuine worry. You can feel this contrast on a pleasant stroll from the city center towards Mihai Viteazul Square, or from the train station to the center—where struggle and financial hardship live side-by-side with Cluj's privileged, modern Western charm. The key decision-makers and influencers in this city notice these things too, and as classic as the comparison is, the feeling of being in a giant game of Monopoly is stronger than ever! There are more and more of us finding ourselves outside the game, so I would love for this show to spark a healthy, passionate sense of civic care. While we might not have the same massive impact as Stéphane Hessel’s famous "Indignez-vous!", I truly hope that the sky-high commercialization of every single square meter is more than enough to stir up a passionate demand for fairness from the wonderful residents living on low and middle incomes. The right to the city, the right to proper housing, and a decent home for everyone are fundamental human rights, and embracing them would show far more true civilization and prosperity than building yet another shopping mall!

Since my first wonderful collaboration with David Schwartz back in 2017—when we created "The Miracle of Cluj" and researched the famous Caritas pyramid scheme of the '90s—it feels like things have gotten tougher, and not even the pandemic taught us much about prioritizing basic human needs, especially with these "miraculous" price hikes. Sadly, we seem to have stayed in the realm of magic, but not the good kind! Seven years later, we are still talking about the "treasure city" and other grand titles for Cluj—a sort of magical island where almost anything is justified in the name of development and prosperity for a select few.

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This cultural project is warmly co-funded by the National Cultural Fund Administration. The project does not necessarily represent the position of the National Cultural Fund Administration. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the program or how the results of the program may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the grant beneficiary.