Alexandra Badea, a director and playwright originally from Romania but immersed in the theatrical landscape of France for the past two decades, emerges as a prominent and lauded voice among the younger generation of playwrights. In her production “Exile,” which she both penned and directed, Badea reconstructs the portrait of a family spanning three generations through a non-linear narrative, delving into the tumultuous epochs of communism, post-communism, and, most notably, exile.

Within the fabric of recounted events lies a rich tapestry of themes, from the quest for identity to the weight of history, adaptation, and culpability. Badea’s characters, whether ensconced in France or rooted in their homeland, grapple with an underlying disquiet, a nagging suspicion of familial betrayal, as they embark on a journey to unearth the genesis of their discord and chart a path toward understanding and reconstructing a new existence.

For this production, Badea envisioned a cast capable of portraying characters’ evolution across decades, from their twenties to their fifties. The diverse talent pool of the National Theatre Bucharest provided the ideal platform for such a multifaceted endeavor, serving as perhaps the sole theatrical institution in Romania where she could fully realize such a nuanced and intricate project.