1h 30' without intermission
The scenes without any text of the young actors – Éva Imre who portrays Lucie and Balázs Bodolai in the role of Cléonte, as well as their servant counterparts played by Csilla Albert and Loránd Váta -, in which dance and the great original music written for the production provide the humor of the piece; another scene is also quite effective, namely the classic cinematic history reference, when, while dreaming of acquiring a higher Turkish noble rank, Mr. Jourdain dances Charlie Chaplin's dance with a fitness ball that turns into a globe.
Molière’s well-known humor was heightened by [the production’s] fascinating dynamics, frantic music, and futuristic high-tech set. I have not before seen Miklós Bács in such a perfect role for him. Because the role of the insolently rich, arrogant and big-mouthed Mr. Jourdain was a great fit for his physique and tone of voice.
The sharpness of Molière's spirit, the incisiveness of his bold, comic criticism have stayed relevant even to this day, preserving their caustic flavor and moralizing force. We are convinced of this truth by the new staging of The Bourgeois Gentleman at the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj, by Mihai Măniuţiu. (...)Miklós Bács portrays an utterly hilarious Jourdain: he’s ignorant, gullible, arrogant as he can be, and likeable to his innocent stupidity. The acclaimed actor knows how to build comic effects with disarming simplicity. (...) A dancing production of Molière, having Miklós Bács as a protagonist is a delight at the fingertips of any potential viewer.
Date of the opening: June 10, 2018
Mr. Jourdain, a filthy rich bourgeois, can afford to buy almost anything in the world. Still, he feels he is missing something: he wants to rise above his middle-class condition and become a cultivated and refined person, just as he imagines members of high life as being. To this end, he opens up his wallet, and surrounds himself with masters who teach him music, dance, and philosophy, lessons meant to fill the real or imaginary knowledge gaps he believes he possesses. However, his masters are dilettantes who exploit his naivety and help themselves to his fortune.
Exasperated by his whims, his family and everyone around him end up joining forces to teach him a lesson. They set up a brilliant farce that the bourgeois gentleman takes as the reality that would fulfill his deepest desires to reach a higher social status. Do common sense and sound judgment have any chance in the face of blind ambition and unmerited desire for social climbing? The Bourgeois Gentleman is a funny story that entertains us even today, 350 years after its creation.