The International Street Theatre Festival is an event that really happens on the street, on the streets, and it really is international, because the participants are only foreign artists, from several European countries.
This festival that took place for three days in Bucharest brought thousands and thousands of people, both locals and tourists, to the streets of the city.
Several squares in the city center and the most important boulevard were invaded by people eager to see these shows. For free! That is, the city paid the artists' fees. I wrote yesterday about this festival. You can see it here: Huge Puppets On The Streets.
The central location of the performances was the Revolution Square. Here is also the former Royal Palace of Romania, now home to the National Art Museum.
The most awaited performance of the festival was by TAWA from France. High Acrobatics...
The show started as evening arrived. Long before that, the spectators started to line up and gather in the square.
I really like street photography. Every time I go out in the street, every time I walk around the city where I live, Bucharest, I try to take as many pictures as possible but I manage to take very few pictures of the people I meet. I photograph them mostly from behind and try to be as discreet as possible. Because people don't like to be photographed by strangers, they don't like to be photographed without being asked permission.
I also told in the previous post what happened to me. I'll say it again... I've been waiting for this festival to take street photos regardless of restrictions and the feelings of those photographed. That's because in a situation like this everyone photographs everyone. No offense!
I prepared to get the best out of myself and my camera, only... I forgot, when I left home, to put the battery in the camera! The only solution I had to make sure I didn't really miss everything was to use my cell phone. I managed to capture the moment but I didn't get the quality of the images as I wanted.
I will put below some of these photos somewhat grouped in certain categories, i.e. in small groups that are made up according to the chronological order in which they were taken and which also represent the order in which the events in the market took place.
People, spectators, and walkers gather near the place where the show is going to take place.
Waiting for the show to start. Interesting to see what people do when they sit in a public place and wait.
Even if they have nothing to do... everyone does something!
I like to look at the photos of many people gathered, looking at each one individually and trying to imagine what they are thinking.
Every wait has an end. An end of waiting becomes a beginning. The beginning of the long-awaited show.
The first signs that the show is about to begin to cause people to gather around the stage.
The artists are heading towards the stage. Surprise appearance. The audience expected the artists to be somewhere behind the stage but they were not. The performers came through the audience!
After the arrival of the artists, acrobats, and musicians, the show was ready to begin. Silence fell over the square. It was a sort of countdown and ready, it began!
All the signs and all the preparations showed that something special and unseen was coming to this place. All eyes are on the high stage and the acrobats are seemingly embedded in very long spears.
People were excited and curious to see what was to come, but only the statue of King Charles I, the man who brought about the modernization of Romania in the mid-nineteenth century, remained impassive, looking towards the Royal Palace, his former home.
The show was well done, with brave acrobatics and good music. The end of the show was grandiose and surprising. About these will be a new post, of course.
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