Rejtő On Stage: Interview with Director Dorka Porogi

Dorka Porogi was born in Budapest. She graduated high school in her home city, and went on to study Hungarian Language and Literature at the Arts Department of Eötvös Loránd University. She graduated with a degree in stage directing from the University of Arts Tg. Mureş. She has worked, among others, for Tamási Áron Theatre Sf. Gheorghe, Ariel Theatre, Tompa Company of the Tg. Mureş National Theatre, and also for the theatres of Miercurea Ciuc and Odorheiu Secuiesc.

- You were born in Budapest, but have worked a lot in Transylvanian theatres. Where does this connection come from?

- I have worked almost exclusively for Transylvanian theatres, because I have graduated as a stage director in Tg. Mureş, so I have mainly been invited to direct here. But I would like to go to Hungary, too – I grew up in Budapest, as a person who loves theatre, so the theatre cultures of these two regions have shaped me and educated me, and for me, both of them are determining for me – of course, it’s not just two cultures, but a thousand. Oradea is a nice place to have a view of both of them.

- What kind of a show will Quarantine in the Grand Hotel be?

- It's a very text-centered show, in the sense that the text dictates the performance. But that's exactly what we want. This, on the one hand, means that where Rejtő, that is, Kornél Hamvai—who has brilliantly adapted the novel to the stage—writes pijamas or a hotel room, we can't just decide to use a fur-coat or a doctor's office instead, because then the whole house of cards of this crime story wound crash, and the result might be very interesting, but it will have nothing to do with Rejtő' humour. Because although Rejtő is a brilliant writer, I couldn't say that his texts are very multi-layered or open to multiple interpretations. This is their charm and their particularity, that they are “first wave”—in a sense, they are dilettant, still somehow they work, and they work brilliantly. I am happy that I had the chance to work alongside designer Anna Kupás and choreographer Attila Bordás—they also drew inspiration from the colours, the fairytale-like quality, the witty humour and the proneness to parody when creating the scenery and the stage movements.

- Quarantine in the Grand Hotel is a quite grandiose show, with a large cast.
- 16 actors of the company are playing in the show, they have welcomed me with an incredible lust for work and play and openness. Besides them, we have several extras, mainly students—it was wonderful to meet them, I loved to see how great and how brave they are, this is surely the effect of the school programs, the town's theatrical life. And let's not forget the wonderful orchestra, conducted by Anikó Brugós.
For the New Year's Eve premiere of the musical comedy Quarantine in the Grand Hotel, adapted to the stage by Kornél Hamvai, Benedek Darvas and Dániel Varró from Jenő Rejtő, all tickets are sold. There are still tickets left for the performance on the 2nd of March. Further performances: 6 January 5 PM (Papp Magda season ticket), 7 January 7 PM (Halasi Gyula season ticket), and 31 January 7 PM (Ady Endre season ticket).