125! My Theatre, My Oradea

Translated by::

On October 15, 1900, the beautiful theater building opened its doors in Oradea. The Oradea community and bourgeoisie, in a city with an increasingly vibrant intellectual life, had been preparing for decades to have their own theater building, until finally the beautiful building was constructed within 15 months, which to this day remains a jewel of the city and a pride of the Hungarian community, now only a minority.

The performance includes students from Oradea, with whom we worked together during the past school year, exploring what Oradea means to them today. The ensemble of the Szigligeti Theater also participates. Based on contemporary documents, we reconstruct the circumstances of the theater’s creation, Oradea’s special attraction, the enlightened atmosphere of the early 20th century, and the impact of the “Holnaposok” group on the entire Hungarian literary life. Historical figures such as Endre Ady, Gyula Juhász, Ákos Dutka, and Tamás Emőd come to life, as if they still sit today at a café table beside the theater.

The performance contrasts and “meets” the past with the present, searching for answers to what we can bring alive from the past and memory, and what possibilities today’s Hungarian community has to organically integrate the theater into their everyday lives.

 

Cast of characters:

Premier: 2025.10.15