Combating domestic violence through art: OSCE supports Moldovan tour of social theatre play “Casa M”

CHISINAU, 25 October 2013 – An OSCE-supported tour of the “Casa M”, a theatre play raising awareness about the domestic violence starts today in Edineţ, a town in northern Moldova, and will  cover seven other towns until mid-November.

The tour is organized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova in partnership with the Coliseum Art Centre.

“Domestic violence is a social problem affecting many families around the world and we should act together to prevent and combat it,” said Ambassador Jennifer Brush, Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova. “We turned to theatre to address domestic violence because art has proved to be an effective form of communication to deal with social problems and raise public awareness of them. I am sure that the real - although disturbing - stories in the play will impact the audience.”

“Casa M” is a documentary-style theatre play telling true stories of Moldovan women who survived different types of violence - psychological, physical, sexual and economic. The play was written and directed by Luminita Ţâcu; the cast includes actors from the National Theatre in Chisinau. The play took part in international festivals in Austria, Georgia, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and Romania.

Each performance will be followed by an interactive debate with the audience, mediated by actors and experts trained in combating domestic violence, during which information materials are distributed.

The 2013 Moldovan tour of the social theatre play “Casa M” to combat domestic violence will conclude the Mission’s project started in 2010. Mode detailed information about the 2013 “Casa M” country tour can be found at //www.osce.org/moldova/107363