Performances / Szigligeti Company / 2025-2026
Lajos Zilahy
The Firebird
A play in two parts
Translated by::
“Zilahy’s work was written in 1932, during the interwar period, adding to a growing series of productions at the Nagyvárad Theatre. This marks the third play by the author from Nagyszalonta to be staged here.
Set in Budapest in the 1930s, the play takes place in an apartment building where Lovasdy, a retired chief police inspector, lives with his beautiful young wife and their 17-year-old daughter. Their lives are disrupted when Balkányi, a celebrated actor, moves in. Years ago, when Balkányi was still a small-time provincial performer, he fell in love with Karola, now Lovasdy’s wife, but his feelings were unreciprocated. He now attempts to capture her heart—again unsuccessfully.
The household’s life is stirred up when Balkányi is found dead. The police launch an investigation, but Lovasdy also conducts his own private inquiry. Using the process of elimination, he quickly concludes that the culprit must be someone in his own family. His wife confesses that she found out Balkányi had a lover and, in a fit of jealousy, killed him. The upper-class Lovasdy is devastated—until Inspector Szentesi proves that Karola misleadingly claimed the killing to protect the real murderer: their own daughter. The family’s pride and joy, the girl they had devoted their lives to raising, turns out to be the true culprit.
Beyond the main characters, a variety of supporting roles enrich the play, adding color, authenticity, and depth to the unfolding drama. (László Lázár, Ifjúmunkás)
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