Rehearsals Started for Two Shows of Szigligeti Company

Szigligeti Company has started the rehearsals for the last two premieres of the season. The company is preparing shows by Chekhov and Hubay.

Platonov: a Drama by Chekhov at Szigligeti Studio

Althought its official premiere will only take place in September 2018, Szigligeti Company will prepare an early showing of the production in 15 June. “Chekhov was 18 when he wrote his first play. Its protagonist has often been compared to Hamlet or Don Juan. The author himself has frequently made this comparison between his hero and the two characters. However, there are some obvious differences: instead of a royal court, the play takes place in a dusty small town. These people are not driven by intrigue, but desperation. What we see is not a prince, but a country teacher. Chekhov's protagonist is one of us: a family man, with a wife and son, yet not a father. Perhaps a man, perhaps a philosopher, perhaps just a human being.” This is the first collaboration of director Botos Bálint with the company, his team consists of scenographer Bajkó Blanka Alíz and composer Bocsárdi Magor.

The First Hungarian Musical Back in Oradea

Szigligeti Company pays a tribute to dramaturgist, author and cultural manager Hubay Miklós, born 100 years ago in Oradea, by putting to the stage the musical Three Nights. The musical is also about a Hungarian poet, Miklós Radnóti, as well as his lover Fanni Gyarmati. By commemorating his tragic fate, the drama gives voice to all those persecuted in the Second World War, and also all the lives broken in two by destructive ideas and wars fought in vain. Ghost-like figures of an extinct world ask moral questions, in the plot, but also in song.

About the show, director Novák Eszter has said: “The first Hungarian Musical – announced the newsreel a the time. The result—although it might need some updating—was a masterpiece. Neither the story nor the music fell victim to marketing, silly entertainment or the desire for financial success. The story is not devoid of tragedy, and its dramaturgy, giving a voice even to posterity on the third night, is inspiring and looks to the future.” Three Nights premieres on 19 May.