The Rape of the Sabine Women – reminder

On Friday, 30 January, at 7 pm, a new performance of the play The Rape of the Sabine Women will take place at Szigligeti Theatre.

The Rape of the Sabine Women is, at the same time, a funny slapstick comedy and a confession about theatre, presenting its romanticism, joys and tragedies alike. A musical vaudeville, which, with its humorous scenes, has been a popular play with hoofer companies of old, and is still an ever recurring element on today's repertoires. Dezső Kellér's Hungarian transcription takes the Vienna author's (Franz and Paul Schönthan) actor-slapstick, and puts it into a Hungarian perspective. The vaudeville shows hoofer romanticism with an elegant irony, presenting its fussiness and its play-acting. The Hungarian version, complete with Iván Szenes's lyrics and Jenő Horváth's music, contains several well-known songs.

Director Imre Halasi, winner of the Jászai and Artist of Merit Award, was born in Budapest, and graduated the Academy of Theatre and Film. At the beginning of his carreer, he was an assistant director of Csokonai Theatre in Debrecen, then later directed at Mikroszkóp Színpad. Among others, he was a director of Szeged National Theatre, then, for 15 years, he was the founding director of Hevesi Sándor Theatre of Zalaegerszeg. From 1987 on, for ten years, he was the theatre's general director and main stage director. He was a manager at Operetta Theatre of Budapest and the National Theatre of Miskolc. As a guest, he has directed plays in Debrecen, Kosice and Eger, among many others, and also at the Regina Maria Theatre in Oradea.