01. MAN IS A FLOWER – IN MEMORIAM LÁSZLÓ LEVENDEL
Première: 12 September 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra (Chamber), József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Elhunyt Levendel László [László Levendel Dies], Népszabadság, 12 September 1994, p. 11
Anikó Köbli: Hajléktalanhalál [Homeless Death], Népszabadság, 12 September 1994, p. 10
Halász investigates the circumstances of the death of László Levendel and everything that happens to him during the investigation is immediately adapted to stage.
Première: 13 September 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Széchenyi-szobrot avatnak a Krisztinavárosban [Széchenyi Statue Unveiled in Krisztina Town], Népszabadság, 13 September 1994. Budapest supplement, III
Halász uses the jokes cracked during the brainstorming session. He creates a stage play using the linguistic jokes combined with situational inventions and vice versa. Many of the jokes carry on into other parts of the series.
Première: 15 September 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Judit Doros: Foglalkozása: remete Fallóskúton [Profession: Hermit in Fallóskút], Népszabadság, 15 September 1994, p. 9
Halász concludes from the style of the article that its author keeps a distance from the subject she wrote about, i.e. a self-appointed hermit. The play unfolds from this observation. Two parts are made: the reporter and a photographer see the same thing when they enter the hermit’s abode, yet they see it completely differently.
Première: 16 September 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Nyolc év a lövöldöző katonáknak [Soldiers Who Shoot Should Be Sentenced to Eight Years], Népszabadság, 16 September 1994, p. 29
Halász gives free reign to improvisation in this play: the actors, however, are at a loss as to what to do with the writers’ ideas.
Première: 19 September 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Még nehezebbé vált a pályakezdők elhelyezkedése [Young People Find It Even Harder to Start a Career], Népszabadság, 19 September 1994
Szilvia Hámor: Talonban [In Reserve], Népszabadság, 19 September 1994, p. 16
Halász builds this play using the class reunion anecdotes shared by the members of the troupe.
08. BUDAPEST – A CITY OF BATHS
Première: 23 September 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Megszökött, ölt, hazajött, elfogták [Deserted, Killed, Returned, Captured], Népszabadság, 23 September 1994, p. 28
Nem bírja a dübörgést a Lukács [Lukács Baths Down with the Racket], Népszabadság, 23 September 1994, Budapest supplement
Maholnap befürdik a Rudas [Rudas Baths: Swim or Sink?], Népszabadság, 23 September 1994, Budapest supplement
Justitia omladozó csarnokai [Crumbling Halls of Justitia], Népszabadság, 23 September 1994, Budapest supplement
Az aluljárókba visszatért a félelem [Fear Returns to Undergrounds], Népszabadság, 23 September 1994, Budapest supplement
Halász comes out with a ‘heavy play’. Its text is given its final form as it is being dictated by Halász. The performance is pulled together with a spectacular idea: a horizontal line divides the stage into different spheres.
Première: 26 September 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Nem jutott mérgezett paprika az élelmiszeriparba [No Poisonous Paprika Entered the Food Industry], pp. 1, 21
Péter Matyuc: Huszonötezer expressz, huszonhét eset [Twenty-five Thousand Express Trains, Twenty-seven Cases], Népszabadság, 26 September 1994. pp. 1, 7
János Sebők: Miért üres a HM kasszája? [Why is the Treasury of the Department of Home Defence Empty?], Népszabadság, 26 September 1994, p. 14
Koleragóc Kerelőben, Népszabadság, 26 September 1994, p. 21
This performance was inspired by the scandal around forged paprika. At the beginning of the rehearsal the participants came up with puns and Halász used them to create a crime story with an elliptic structure. Andor Lukáts read out the text on stage, and the others ‘illustrated’ the situations suggested by the text.
Première: 27 September 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Műemlék a Sándor-nyaraló [Sándor Holiday Home Turned into a Memorial], Népszabadság, 27 September 1994, Budapest supplement, III
Life in a psychiatric institution is reconstructed in this performance. Everybody lives in their own universe, unable to establish contact with the outside world. The actors are sitting in a large box, isolated from the audience. There is no pre-written script; the performance ends when the last member of the audience goes home.
Première: 29 September 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Szerelmes képeslapok [Post Cards of Love], Népszabadság, 29 September 1994, p. 13
Péter Halász directs even those who he does not speak the same language with; he makes them dance and recite poetry. Andor Lukáts is making a drawing and the ideas of the actors greatly contribute to the evening performance.
12. WHAT DOES A SINNER DESERVE WHO...
Première: 30 September 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Ékszert keresnek a pesti zálogházak [Pawn-shops in Pest Looking for Jewellery], Népszabadság, 30 September 1994, Budapest supplement, I.
Halász creates a human story out of nothing; the ever-more tiring brainstorming ends up in collective singing. Instead of doing a rehearsal, Ági Szirtes improvises on stage in the evening.
Première: 3 October 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Teljes a Hatos [Tramline Number Six Completed], Népszabadság, 3 October 1994, p. 21
The news goes: tramline number six has been restarted. During the rehearsal it gets decided that the members of the audience will be seated as if they were sitting on a tram and the actors will be conductors providing various services to them.
Première: 4 October 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Ártatlanokat ütöttek a rendőrök? [Did the Police Beat Up Inocent People?], Népszabadság, 4 October 1994, p. 9
Some policemen hit the parents of children who had their birthday on that day. They are Roma people. During the rehearsal Halász dictated the full text of the play, which reconstructs this event. The next morning Edit Káldor and Dániel Garas are shooting a film on the location of the vent and this footage provides the background for the evening performance. The Roma music band Ando Drom played music in the second half of the performance.
15. WHAT’S UP, DUDE? HAVE YOU BEEN DIDDLED?
Première: 1994. október 6. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Éva Bedecs: Cukrosbácsik voltak is, vannak is [There Have Always Been and Will Always Be Child Molesters], Népszabadság, 6 October 1994, p. 19
The theme was paedophilia. With Péter Halász being absent, the troupe, led by Andor Lukáts, made a more or less classical performance based on the story of a child molester.
16. ONE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS
Première: 7 October 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Anikó Köbli: Ezentúl csak orvos altathat [From Now On Only Anaesthesiologists Can Put You Under], Népszabadság, 7 October 1994, p. 1
With Péter Halász being absent, the troupe was directed by Andor Lukáts. Soliciting István Eörsi’s help, the chosen theme was the new legislation about anaesthesiologists. Lukáts began work with rehearsing more structured and mostly pre-written scenes.
17. THE RECONSTRUCTION OF A SITUATION
Première: 10 October 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Anikó Köbli: Védőnők mostoha helyzetben [District Nurses In a Tough Situation], Népszabadság, 10 October 1994, p. 7
Annamária Valyuch, the director’s assistant of the newspaper-theatre series, has had a child. Halász and his troupe gave a performance about the situation of district nurses in Hungary using the footage recorded in the hospital and a fictitious investigation.
Première: 11 October 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Fekete Gy. Attila: Túladagolta a heroint [Heroin Overdose], Népszabadság, 11 October 1994, p. 21
Halász’s drug-related experiences were adapted to create a radical interpretation of Romeo and Juliet. Halász, who relates a monologue as Friar Laurence, does not direct the actors but instead teaches, philosophises and reminisces.
Premiére: 13 October 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Sírkőféltés Öcsödön [Fearing for a Tomb in Öcsöd], Népszabadság, 13 October 1994, p. 15
The troupe staged a grotesque tragedy with the theme of a funeral. This time the most important aspect of Halász’s direction is the casting.
Première: 17 October 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
János Rác T.: Túszejtés a kaszinóban [Hostage Drama in the Casino], Népszabadság, 17 October 1994, pp. 1, 10
Halász adapts the story of a hostage drama in a casino to stage. He recites ballads by János Arany by heart and links them with the hostage drama, and calls the owner of the casino, who is unwilling to make a statement tricking him into providing some information.
Première: 18 October 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Laktanyába vonulhatnak a hajléktalanok [Homeless People Go to the Barracks], Népszabadság, 18 October 1994, pp. 1, 5
What is there in us that is still useful? Asks Andor Lukáts. This gives rise to the creation of the most peculiar piece of the series titled Power. The rehearsals and the performance is about the relationship between Halász and Lukáts. You never know where reality ends and where fiction begins.
Première: 24 October 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Iván Bächer: New York, Népszabadság, 24 October 1994, p. 8
Halász called the entire project a total failure, as he got tired of the young actors demanding pre-written scripts and not being willing to use their imagination. The story of the New York Café was changed to the story of Hungária Café; the time of the play was changed from the golden age of Hungarian literature to the sixties. A corner of the café covered with a piece of tulle is in the middle of the stage and can be seen from the four corners of the auditorium. Halász first wanted to invite Petri, Bacher, Csurka and Szentjóby but in the end only the troupe was there. Everything that happened to them could be seen by the audience through the tulle and vice versa. Through the tulle darkly.
Première: 25 October 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Tovább Vizsgálják az orosházi baleset okait [Further Investigation into the Accident in Orosháza] (a rented aircraft crashed in Orosháza), Népszabadság, 25 October 1994, pp. 1, 21
Kényszerleszállás [Forced Landing], Népszabadság, 25 October 1994, p. 21
Káosz a reptéren [Chaos at the Airport], Népszabadság, 25 October 1994, p. 21
Halász wanted to direct a performance about aviation. Stories were brainstormed from Deadalus and Icarus to the Master and Margarita, but in the end Tódor Kármán, the father of supersonic aviation and the patron saint of the US Air Force, was chosen to be the protagonist of the play. The performance was built up from associative fragments of texts and at the end of it Péter Halász led a levitation exercise.
27. ONCE UPON A TIME YOU HAD A WILD HUSBAND
Première: 27 October 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Ha Othello szoknyát visel! [When Othello Wears the Skirt], Népszabadság, 27 October 1994, p. 19
Halász gave a performance, or rather an absurd revue, about jealousy, thus evoking the existential uncertainty this feeling brings about, albeit in a very funny way. He used a series of commedia dell'arte type situations exaggerated to extremes: the names of the participants of the show – be they children dogs, neighbours, grandparents – were either Sándor Kovács (Alex Smith), Sándor Szabó (Alex Taylor), Sándorné Kovács née Aranka Szabó (Mrs Alex Smith née Aranka Smith) or Sándorné Szabó née Aranka Kovács (Mrs Alex Taylor née Aranka Smith) or any combination of these. These people introduced themselves again and again. "This is the litmus test of acting: those who get dipped into it and turn red have had it,” Halász said about the play.
Première: 28 October 1994. 8 p.m., Kamra, József Katona Theatre, Budapest
Jakab Orsós László: Színházi regény [Theatre Novel], Népszabadság, 28 October 1994, p. 22
In the last performance of the series the participants reminisced about the most important moments of the previous plays and thanked their colleagues for their cooperation. During the rehearsals Péter Halász wrote a letter to Népszabadság, in which he criticised a critic who wrote about the series Power with an utter lack of understanding.
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