Elevator by Gabriel Pintilei
a staged reading directed by Grant Neale
in the framework of "Reading the Tea Leaves" series


“Once upon a time there was a boy and a girl who one day got stuck… in the ELEVATOR.” – Gabriel Pintilei

A boy and a girl, high school teenagers, looking for a place to be alone for a while, find refuge in an abandoned factory. But they get stuck in the cargo elevator. There is no one around to hear them, and nobody knows their whereabouts. Caught in the trap of their own romantic intention to escape reality, the protagonists run through the gamut of human interaction as they wait and wait to be rescued. As one failed escape attempt follows another, and jokes are wearing thin, how long before innocence, friendship and stamina collapse under the weight of their confined existence?

Inspired by a real-life story, Gabriel Pintilei’s ELEVATOR won the dramAcum2 new writing competition and the Best New Play at the Romanian Dramaturgy Festival in 2007, and has been staged to critical acclaim both in its native Romania as well as abroad. Its English production has just premiered this May in London, and the play was published in Czech and Portuguese. Its 2008 award-winning film version, directed by George Dorobanţu, is still touring film venues worldwide.

Join us in the lovely RCINY/ Carturesti book exhibition for the staged reading of this successful play, directed by Grant Neale, with actors Rachel Lin, Alex Fast, and Dylan Chalfy, plus a peek from the film of the same title, which is a rare example of an extremely accurate filmic rendition of a play.

This event continues the "Reading the Tea Leaves" series in the RCINY/Carturesti book exhibition, proposing a program of performative readings of contemporary Romanian writing, curated by the theatre director Ana Mărgineanu.


Gabriel Pintilei is a Romanian actor, theatre director, playwright, scriptwriter, choreographer and acting teacher. His work is strongly linked with the prestigious Odeon Theatre in Bucharest, where he has acted in more than 15 plays, and where his latest award-winning play, BLIFAT, will be staged this upcoming season. Passionate about all aspects of theatre and film, the young artist is active on and behind stage, in workshops and alternative performances.
“I like simple words," he says about his writing. "You won't find in my writings sophisticated terms, ‘shattering' metaphors, smart ideas or situations that are hard to imagine. As a writer, I'm an amateur, I follow my instinct. I rely on musicality, on the fluency of language.”

Since 1995, Grant Neale has been Co-Artistic Director of Nomad Theatrical Company with Hillary Spector. Together with company Dramaturge Karen Lee Ott, he produced a monthly play reading series for three years at The Black Door in Chelsea. He has also directed and designed many of Nomad’s full productions including August Steinberg’s MISS JULIE, Shakespeare’s RICHARD III, THE TWO CHARACTER PLAY by Tennessee Williams, and Vaclav Havel’s REDEVELOPMENT. Grant was a participant in the 2007 Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab.


[Image: Still from the film "Elevator" based on the play and directed by George Dorobantu]