TabThePAST Project: Memory, Ethics And Performativity in the Post-Communist Cultural Space

Authors

  • Radu Apostol I.L. Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film, Bucharest, Romania & Replika Educational Theatre Centre in Bucharest, Romania Author
  • Răsvana Cernat I.L. Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film, Bucharest, Romania Author
  • Viorel Cojanu Replika Educational Theatre Centre in Bucharest, Romania Author
  • Mihaela Michailov I.L. Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film, Bucharest, Romania & Replika Educational Theatre Centre in Bucharest, Romania Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37130/z2hpbx48

Keywords:

TabThePAST Project, performativity, archive, censorship, cultural memory, theatre pedagogy, artistic research, AR/VR, post-communism

Abstract

The article examines how the European project “TabThePAST – Taboo History. Fill the Past to Sense the
Present” (2023–2024) reactivates the past of theatrical censorship in Romania and the former GDR, through an interdisciplinary methodology that combines archival research, pedagogy and artistic creation. Starting from the archives of UNATC and CNSAS (The National Council for Studying the Securitate Archives), the project proposes a model of a “performative archive”, in which documents are recontextualized through educational workshops and performances such as: Un dosar X/1955, Învinsul Învingător, Nostalgia Up&Down, Controverse 1961. Cum vă place?, Dușmance ale poporului (artistic approach reactivated by the project).

The analysis uses the concepts formulated by Diana Taylor, Janette Malkin, Rebecca Schneider and Aleida & Jan Assmann to investigate the relationship between archive, memory and performativity. It is argued that TabThePAST develops a form of memory pedagogy that transforms historical research into a participatory and reflective process, activating the past through corporeality, empathy and immersive technology (AR/ VR). Finally, the article places the project in the European context of theatre studies, highlighting its contribution to redefining the relationship between art, education and civic responsibility.

Author Biographies

  • Radu Apostol, I.L. Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film, Bucharest, Romania & Replika Educational Theatre Centre in Bucharest, Romania

    Radu Apostol is a theatre director, PhD Associate Professor at I.L. Caragiale UNATC in Bucharest. Co-founder and co-artistic director of Replika Centre for Educational Theatre – an artistic mouse trap for community issues, an independent, interdisciplinary theatre, deeply involved in the Romanian society; co-founder of dramAcum, ArtsLink Fellow 2005, resident at the Cornerstone Theatre Company, L.A. He directed and produced community-based theatre shows, educational theatre performances and workshops, contemporary plays. He was the recipient of national awards and participated as a member of national juries.

  • Răsvana Cernat, I.L. Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film, Bucharest, Romania

    Sandra-Răsvana Cernat is a university lecturer and the Head of the Theatre Directing Department at the I.L. Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film in Bucharest. Her academic and professional activity includes work in theatre and opera directing, television production, and coordination of educational and artistic projects within UNATC. She has collaborated with national cultural institutions, participated in international conference presentations, and contributed to film and documentary productions. Her interests focus on directing practice, performative processes, and the development of collaborative learning environments in the performing arts.

  • Viorel Cojanu, Replika Educational Theatre Centre in Bucharest, Romania

    Viorel Cojanu is an actor, playwright, and cultural manager, co-founder and executive director of the Replika Educational Theatre Centre in Bucharest, Romania. For over a decade, he has conceived and implemented numerous locally and internationally funded cultural projects. In 2022, he contributed as an independent expert to the Romanian Ministry of Culture’s commission on the Status of Cultural Workers, developing policy proposals for the performing arts sector. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Management at SNSPA, focusing on resilience models in Romanian cultural institutions.

  • Mihaela Michailov, I.L. Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film, Bucharest, Romania & Replika Educational Theatre Centre in Bucharest, Romania

    Mihaela Michailov is a playwright, performing arts critic, coordinator of the Master of Playwriting at I.L. Caragiale UNATC Bucharest, co-founder of the independent space Replika Educational Theatre Centre, based in Bucharest. She has written more than 25 plays focused on social and political themes, which were translated into Bulgarian, English, French, Hungarian, Italian, German, Greek, Macedonian, Portuguese, Spanish. She has received several national prizes for playwriting.

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Published

2025-12-26

Issue

Vol. 31 No. 2 (2025): Puppetry. Histories that shaped us / TabThePasT / Film and Theatre Pedagogy

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Apostol, R., Cernat, R., Cojanu, V., & Michailov, M. (2025). TabThePAST Project: Memory, Ethics And Performativity in the Post-Communist Cultural Space. CONCEPT, 31(2), 114-138. https://doi.org/10.37130/z2hpbx48