Károly Peller in the Title Role of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King in Oradea

On Thursday, 27 November, and on Friday, the 28th, the family musical The Nutcracker and the Mouse King will premiere on the stage of Szigligeti Theatre. The performance will be put to the stage in a double-casting: on the 27th, the role of the Mouse King will be played by Balázs Viezer, whereas on the 28th, by Károly Peller. About the performance, its creators, along with the theatre's management, held a press conference on Monday.

In introduction, manager Katalin Czvikker said that the performance has been created as part of our program Theatre in School, School in Theatre, with support from Romania's Ministry of Culture. Before the rehearsals, two camps had been organized for the 25 participant children.

Lilliput Company's art director András Szőke Kavinszki spoke about the casting process. The child actors were selected from the students of six Oradea schools: Ady Endre High School, Szent László Roman Catholic High School, Lorántffy Zsuzsanna Reformed High School, Mihai Eminescu High School, High School of Arts, and Szacsvay Imre Grade School.

Director Tünde Tóth said that it was a wonderful experience to work with the children. She said they had a lot of enthusiasm and creativity in them. Choreographer Tünde Baczó – who was also there for the Nutcracker camps – also emphasized that despite her previously thinking that it would be hard to work with child actors, in reality, it was her who drew energy from them during the process. Károly Peller, artist of Operetta Theatre Budapest, said that he had learnt a lot from the youngsters, especially from Balázs Viezer, the one who will play the Mouse King along with him, and it was a joy for him to see what an innate talent he has for this role.

The two child actors present at the conference, Áron Wagner and Balázs Viezer told the journalists how much fun they had in the camps and during the rehearsals – the latter also added how much the whole experience has influenced his personal development.

Following the double premiere, the play will be next seen on 4 December, and also three more times this month. On the 22nd, the performance will be presented to institutionalized children.