IF YOU SEE A DRAGON COMING, YOU PULL A SWORD Interview with Robert Wilson
He supports the Freeszfe Association and condemns the curtailment of artistic freedom. We asked Robert Wilson about the why. He also sent a message to young Hungarians. AN INTERVIEW BY PANNI NÉDER.
LASTING FRIENDSHIPS An interview with Philip Arnoult
When someone speaks about US and Hungarian theatrical relationships, you cannot miss his name. Philip Arnoult, head of the Center for International Theatre Development (CITD) says that he spent his whole life in different spaces waiting for something to happen. And it was worth doing it. AN INTERVIEW BY
SCREENING FOR CHANGE A chat with Pál Laska about television around 1989
Brazilian soap operas and Dallas, infotainment and talk shows, cop series and space series – asking script writer and television historian Pál Laska about domestic and imported emblematic TV shows of the eighties and nineties. AN INTERVIEW BY FERENC LÁSZLÓ.
IF YOU REMEMBER, THAT MEANS YOU WEREN’T EVEN THERE Interview with Ferenc Hammer about the Black Hole and the subcultures around 1989
The Black Hole (1988-1994) was a legendary club in Budapest in Golgota street. It was the first place in the country to gather underground subcultures, and its history is linked with the political changes of 1989. We had a chat with Ferenc Hammer, the chair of the Media and Communication department at ELTE about young people, politics, punk and H&M’s Ramones t-shirts. INTERVIEW BY PANNI PUSKÁS.
“IT WOULD BE A SHAME TO WIPE IT OFF THE MAP” András Török, the former president of the National Cultural Fund.
Its launch in 1994 was glorious and full of hope. It was an independent organization set out to finance culture. It was gradually subjugated, then engulfed by the ministry, by power. In 2019 almost 11 billion HUF was available, the lion’s share of which was used by the minister and the projects determined by the ministry. AN INTERVIEW BY JUDIT CSÁKI.
Ad
Ad
IF YOU REMEMBER, THAT MEANS YOU WEREN’T EVEN THERE Interview with Ferenc Hammer about the Black Hole and the subcultures around 1989
The Black Hole (1988-1994) was a legendary club in Budapest in Golgota street. It was the first place in the country to gather underground subcultures, and its history is linked with the political changes of 1989. We had a chat with Ferenc Hammer, the chair of the Media and Communication department at ELTE about young people, politics, punk and H&M’s Ramones t-shirts. INTERVIEW BY PANNI PUSKÁS.
LASTING FRIENDSHIPS An interview with Philip Arnoult
When someone speaks about US and Hungarian theatrical relationships, you cannot miss his name. Philip Arnoult, head of the Center for International Theatre Development (CITD) says that he spent his whole life in different spaces waiting for something to happen. And it was worth doing it. AN INTERVIEW BY TAMÁS JÁSZAY.
“IT WOULD BE A SHAME TO WIPE IT OFF THE MAP” András Török, the former president of the National Cultural Fund.
Its launch in 1994 was glorious and full of hope. It was an independent organization set out to finance culture. It was gradually subjugated, then engulfed by the ministry, by power. In 2019 almost 11 billion HUF was available, the lion’s share of which was used by the minister and the projects determined by the ministry. AN INTERVIEW BY JUDIT CSÁKI.
LOOK AROUND YOU AND LIVE YOUR OWN LIFE! AN interview with Deborah Zoe Laufer
Deborah Zoe Laufer’s comedy The Last Schwartz was put on stage at Belvárosi Színház in October. We invited the author to talk about tradition, religion, disintegrating cultures and Tchekhov. AN INTERVIEW BY ÁGNES MERÉNYI.
OBSESSION AND GOOD WILL IN MANHATTAN László Krasznahorkai: Spadework for a Palace
Krasznahorkai is no stranger to the depiction of seclusion and solitude as the necessary (and sometimes almost sufficient) component of creative work, and to the bitter romanticism of how extremely lonesome everyone is in this world. A REVIEW BY JÓZSEF NAGYGÉCI KOVÁCS.
ETERNALLY INCOMPLETE THE RENEWED MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS
After almost three years’ work and spending around 15 billion HUF, the Museum of Fine Arts reopened in the autumn. The building underwent its greatest reconstruction of its history, but at first glance all we see are minor face lifts. Which only shows that the designers were on the right track. A REPORT BY ANDRÁS ZSUPPÁN
A FEAST FOR THE EYE Ruben Brandt, Collector
Who have not wished for their favourite paintings in a museum to come to life and tell the continuation of the story captured in the moment? Ruben Brandt, Collector is an animated feature film built on exactly that desire, while conjuring an intriguing story around the classics set in motion. And it manages to do so without becoming overtly didactic. A Review by SÁNDOR ZSIGMOND PAPP.
REVOLUTION IS A NECESSARY CAUSE, BUT IMPOSSIBLE TODAY An interview with director Kokan Mladenović
Kokan Mladenović’s name is well known both within and outside the theatre: he is the director who will not keep quiet, and won’t tolerate it from others either.
AN INTERVIEW BY ZSÓFI SZERDA.
„I WON’T SAY YES TO ANYTHING JUST TO WORK IN AMERICA” A chat with Mátyás Erdély, the cinematographer of Son of Saul and Sunset
He wasn’t rolling in offers after the Oscar for Saul, but he does not see it as a tragedy.
We contacted Mátyás Erdély in London, where he is shooting the new Jude Law film.
An Interview by TAMÁS SOÓS.
Ad
A DOOR Svetlana Alexievich: Secondhand / Örkény Theatre
Every episode of the show called Secondhand is about the ingloriously deceased (?) Soviet Union, but the performance as a whole is built from us, non-Soviets, it tells our story. By JUDIT CSÁKI.
IDENTICAL TRACKLISTS MDLSX / Motus (IT), Trafó
Silvia Calderoni’s show makes us behave like the voyeurs of a peep show. The only difference is that she shows us not only her body, but the anxiety and pain as well caused by her physical otherness. A REVIEW BY PANNI PUSKÁS.
WE COMPLEMENT ONE ANOTHER An interview with Gabriela Carrizo, a founding member of Peeping Tom
After ten years we had the pleasure of seeing the Belgian Peeping Tom theatre company in Trafó once again. We had a chat with Gabriela Carrizo, the director of Moeder (Mother) about remembrance, time, family and team work. AN INTERVIEW BY PANNI NEDER.
BUDAPEST BECAME VIENNA’S WHORE László Nemes: Sunset
A girl in a hat stumbles helplessly in the conceited chaos of a decaying world: the big question of Sunset is whether the cinematic magic of László Nemes becomes meaningful once again. A REVIEW BY ZSOLT GYENGE.
“WHERE THERE IS COWARDICE, WINKING RETURNS” A conversation with Róbert Alföldi
Fear Eats the Soul (Átrium), The Crucible (Szombathely) and Richard III (Radnóti Színház) – these are only a few of the shows in which Róbert Alföldi worked in the past season. In 2018 his performances were nominated in five categories for the Theater Critics’ Award. AN INTERVIEW BY PANNI PUSKÁS.
THE FEMALE BODY EXPERIENCE – WITH SERENE RUTHLESSNESS Frida Kahlo – Masterpieces from the Museo Dolores Olmedo of Mexico City/ Hungarian National Gallery
„She was the first woman in the history of art to treat, with absolute and uncompromising honesty, one might even say impassive cruelty, those general and specific themes which exclusively affect women” BY ANDREA BORDÁCS.
AIMING THE GUTS FC Bergman (BE): 300 el x 50 el x 30 el
It is true of all of the FC Bergman collective’s productions, but 300 el x 50 el x 30 el is perhaps the strongest case for it, that the performance works at the viewers’ guts while simultaneously firing off intellectual and emotional triggers. BY FANNI NÁNAY
RESUSCITATION Béjart Ballet Lausanne: The Magic Flute / Margaret Island Open-Air Stage
Béjart provides a simultaneous interpretation of The Magic Flute, creating a one-to-one mapping from the characters of the opera and the music to dancers and movements. BY CSABA KRÁLL.
VOICES FROM THE DARK An afterword to the New York Hungary Live Festival
As I have already alluded: From New York very little is seen of the theatrical world of Europe, let alone Hungary. The first production of the Hungary Live Festival wished to change just that. BY TAMÁS JÁSZAY.