Critics' Hour on Hrabal

A few years ago, the Hungarian branch of the International Critics' Association started a discussion series called Critics' Hour. The roundtables take place after theatre plays, and they aim to start a discussion between critics, artists and audience members.

On the 5th of February, one such Critics' Hour took place in Arcadia Theatre, following the play The Seventh Stair. Theatre critics were represented by Anikó Varga, Ildikó Ungvári Zrínyi ans Andrea Zsigmond, the play's creators, by dramaturgist Zsolt Benedek (the “critical mass” was, of course, the audience itself). Besides giving insight into the stories, experiences, and processes that surrounded the birth of the play, the discussion aimed to give a chance to artists, critics and audience members to talk openly about their positive and negative opinions, and engage in a friendly and equal dialogue.

We found out that Hrabal's world is important for Oradea because this kind of theatre is still unusual in the city, its interactive character is refreshing for the audience. Questions were asked about just how much activity from the public the actors are prepared for. They said that based on experiences so far, every show has a different effect, given partly by the audience's subjective experience, and partly by the actors' reactions.