The artistic council of the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj has awarded the 2015/2016's season's Bánffy Miklós Prize to Balázs Bodolai for his role in the production of America, a play that premiered on November 2, 2015.

The Miklós Bánffy Prize was founded in 1992 by the artistic council of the institution on the 200th anniversary of the theatre's establishment. The members of the council cast their secret vote yearly in recognition of the most prominent artistic achievement of the previous season.

The prize will be awarded on November 12, following the performance of America, which will be starting at 7 pm, in the studio space built upon the Main Stage of the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj.

“We are Karl Rossmann. Twenty five years ago we, like Karl, were enthusiastic to leave behind the communist system and step into the free world. However, we soon recognized the borders, labyrinths and dangers of the so much desired “America”. We need to answer the inevitable question: aren't we responsible for the failures and disappointments that we have experienced during the past quarter of a century?” – said director Michal Dočekal regarding the production.

Réka Bartha writes the following about the play:
“:we can easily picture any young person of our days going through the story Kafka depicted, when such a person goes through precisely these types of atrocities experiencing the life of a migrant, arriving in a strange environment armed with exactly these kinds of stereotypes, and just like Karl, he disappears forever among the dreamlike fantasies of a better existence. Undoubtedly, this is what makes Franz Kafka relevant also in the 21st century.”