There is no doubt that the refugee crisis is part of the zeitgeist now when even productions of Ferenc Herczeg’s Byzantium (at Újszínház) and Offenbach’s The Rhine Fairies (at Erkel Theater) refer, albeit obliquely, to the issue. Two shows, however, tackle the issue head on while stretching the conventional boundaries of theatre itself. One is the interactive game Menekülj okosan! (or Flee Wisely) at Jurányi ...
When Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House premiered in 1879, it was a revolutionary treatment of sexual relations (at that time, often referred to as “the woman question”). One critic called the point at which Nora leaves her husband and her children “the door slam heard round the world.” Evidently, the work’s impact continues to be felt. As the fight for sexual equality spreads to new ...
Here is your guide to the performance options in March 2018.
Entries are arranged by theater or venue.
This former cinema retains its classy, nostalgic interior, and there is a great buffet with tasty cakes, coffee, and drinks. Still, expect steeper than usual prices (for the tickets, too). The stage was never remodeled. We are gazing at where the movie screen used to be, so the sight-lines are a little wonky. Clever directors are able to work around ...
At the conclusion of Offenbach’s Die Rheinnixen ( The Rhein Fairies , now playing at the Erkel Theater), the heroine Armgard suggests that all the tragedy was just a bad dream. As the producers argue in the program, this makes it possible for the characters to move on from calamity; it offers hope of breaking with the past and building a brighter future. At the same time, however, she is called upon to reconcile with ...
In this contemporary theatre scene, one must sometimes be a detective to figure out what a director wishes to “say” with a given production. Take the Új Színház’s new premiere of Bizánc (Ferenc Herczeg’s classic play Byzantium from 1904, which dramatizes the Fall of Constantinople, conquered on May 29, 1453, by Sultan Mehmed and his Ottoman army). Director Viktor Nagy claims in the program’s notes that “we are ...
In simple terms, András Berecz is a raconteur, a singer and master storyteller, but his art form defies categorization. As a performer, he is highly in demand; yet, as he explained in the course of our conversation, he never dreamed of a stage career. After a performance of his new show Sinka ének at the National, he kindly consented to be my first interview subject for the Budapest Theatre Digest blog.*
* [Our interview was conducted in ...
The one great departure that Kristóf Kovács makes in his direction of Waiting for Godot , Samuel Beckett’s incomparable opus of ennui and cabaret theatre, is to cast an actress (Sára Bohoczki) as Godot’s messenger. When asked why, he explained that in a play where the other four characters are men, the appearance of a female at the end of acts one and two ...
There is a disclaimer on the programs and posters for the current show: “The manner in which this production of Porgy and Bess is being produced is unauthorized and is contrary to the requirements for the presentation of the work.”
Gershwin forbade the use of white performers and singers in Porgy and Bess , because he feared the very real possibility that it would become a degrading minstrel show. His family, which still controls the ...
Here is your guide to the performance options in February 2018.
Entries are arranged by theater or venue.
This former cinema retains its classy, nostalgic interior, and there is a splendid buffet with tasty cakes, coffee, and drinks. Still, expect steeper than usual prices (for the tickets, too). The stage was never remodeled. We are gazing at where the movie screen used to be, so the sight-lines are a little wonky. Clever directors are able to work ...
Supposedly the first play by accomplished Hungarian author Áron Tamási, Ősvigasztalás ( Ancient Solace ) is an odd drama – far stranger than his popular Énekes madár ( Songbird ) or Vitéz Lélek ( Valiant Soul ), which can be seen now at the Nemzeti Színház. This was amply demonstrated by the guest ensemble from Békéscsaba’s Jókai Színház. They recently performed their production of Ancient ...
