Schedule
Tragic comedy without a break.
The show is recommended for viewers over 14 years!
The Hungarian text was written by: Lajos Parti Nagy.
The text on which the performance is based was translated from the English version by Eszter Orbán.
Dance: CORTES SEBASTIAN
A couple sleeping peacefully in a wide, large, double bed. In the middle of the night, the man is suddenly awakened: he feels a tremendous pressure on his chest. It's a heart attack, he thinks, and then it's the end. And it's time for a reckoning. He feels that he has wasted his whole life, and that the main reason is the woman sleeping next to him, who - again! - instead of caring for him, smiles sweetly and dreams of very pleasant things. He then, in a helpless rage, forgetting his fear of death, throws her off the bed and announces that he is moving away to find a new life and a new wife before it is too late. But the decision is always easier than the execution...
The couple's nightly, multi-turn, life-or-death battle of tears and laughter is the subject of Israeli playwright Hanoch Levin's brilliantly written and staged play. It speaks of a deep and true fundamental situation in human relationships that at least once many men and women have faced, are facing or will face in their lifetime.
Levin, the greatest figure in Isreali drama and theatre, lived a short life and produced a very intense work: he lived for 57 years, wrote 56 plays, and his name is remembered for songs, prose, poetry and major stage productions.
One of his two internationally renowned works is Rekviem, a stage text composed from Chekhov's short stories, which he directed and performed here in Budapest as a guest at the Cameri Theatre in Tel Aviv, to resounding success. (According to his friend Ilan Eldad, the director of the current production, Levin's real international acclaim began here in Budapest with this guest performance.) And his second standout work is the tragicomedy Life as Such, which is being performed in a growing number of venues around the world. The Hungarian text, brilliantly transcribed by Lajos Parti Nagy, balances between the extremes of irresistible humour and poignant tragedy. The guest director of the production is the Israeli Ilan Eldad, who has had several successful performances in Budapest.
Vígszínház
The Vígszínház is one of the most historic and popular theatres in Budapest. Its three venues (the Main Stage, the House Stage Studio and Chamber, the Pest Theatre) have a total of more than 1700 seats. The theatre is also known as the cradle of modern Hungarian bourgeois drama, with famous authors such as Jenő Heltai, Sándor Bródy, Dezső Szomory, Menyhért Lengyel, Ernő Szép, Sándor Hunyady, Ferenc Herczeg, and others. In the 21st century, the majority of the world's theatres with large auditoriums have lost a good part of their audience. Despite this trend, the premieres of the Vígszínház are successful, and its performances are well attended. The theatre is located on the Újlipótváros side of Szent István körút in Budapest.
