Today, August 25, András Csíky is 80 years old. As an actor, he is a recipient of the Jászai Mari and Szentgyörgyi István prizes, as well as being one of the most important and versatile figures of Hungarian-speaking theatre, and a honorary member of the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj.

“Uncle Bandi” was born in Odorheiu Secuiesc on August 25, 1930. In 1953 he graduated from the Theatre section of the Hungarian Arts Institute in Cluj. He was among the founding members of the Hungarian section of the Baia Mare State Theatre, before going on to be the director of the Satu Mare State Theatre, which later became the Northern Theatre of Satu Mare.

András Csíky joined the Cluj theatre in 1977, 33 years ago. He has collaborated with many generations of stage directors, including György Harag, Ferenc Kovács, Miklós Tompa, Gyula Cseresnyés, József Szabó, István Farkas, Sándor Szígyártó, Elemér Kincses, Árpád Árkosi, István Kövesdy, Tamás Major, István Mózes, Levente Kovács, Ottó Rappaport, János Vincze, János Taub, Gábor Dehel, Attila Keresztes, Dragoş Galgoţiu, Alexandru Dabija, Mona Chirilă, David Grant, Vlad Mugur and Gábor Tompa.

He has played more than 150 roles in plays such as classics by Shakespeare, Molière, Chekhov, Feydeau, Ibsen, Gorkij, Bulgakov, Mrozek, Gombrowicz, Pirandello, Camus, Stoppard, Beckett, and Ionesco as well as in many plays by Hungarian authors, including András Sütő, Sándor Huszár, Mihály Vörösmarty, József Katona, Mór Jókai, Ernő Szép, Imre Sarkadi, Sándor Bródy, János Székely, István Sigmond, and György Spiró.

In addition to the Erzsébet, Szentgyörgyi István and Jászai Mari prizes, András Csíky has been distinguished with the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic, the Chevalier's Cross, and the Cultural Merit of the Ministry of Culture and Cults of Romania, as well as lifetime awards from the Ministry of Cultural Patrimony of Hungary, the Romanian Theatre Union (UNITER) and the Kisvárda Festival of Hungarian Theatres Abroad (Hungary). In 2010 he received the Prize of the Hungarian Cultural Association from Transylvania.

Other premieres have been planned as well: a New Year's Eve cabaret, for which Gábor Tompa asked the members of the company to contribute their own ideas; Gogol's Diary of a Madman, directed by Tom Dugdale; Dundo Maroje by Marin Držić, directed by Robert Raponja; Caligula by Albert Camus, directed by Mihai Măniuţiu; Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, directed by Tom Dugdale; The Rectangular Round Forest by Ervin Lázár, directed by István Albu; Tiramisù: I Killed My Mother by András Visky, interpreted by Áron Dimény and Csilla Albert; The Maids by Jean Genet; directed by József Bíró; and Molière's The Miser, directed by Andrei Şerban. 

On Friday, June 18, at 7 pm, the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj will present its closing performance of the 2009/2010 season, Uncle Vanya by A.P. Chekhov. This production will bring an end to the 217th season of the theatre, and we wish to thank you on this occasion for your interest and your support.

Beginning in September, we'll be back with new premières and many other interesting performances!

On June 11th, 8 pm at the Sushi Centre for the Urban Arts in San Diego, the opening will take place of the performance Ruins True, directed by Gábor Tompa. The show was inspired by the works of Samuel Beckett and is interpreted by Liam Clancy, Mary Reich, and Yolande Snaith; the latter also choreographed the performance.

Ruins True explores the limits of performing arts, of theatre, dance, poetry, and multimedia, as well as they possibilities they offer for mediation, by placing in the middle of the performance the decomposition of human relationships, the dignity of death and memory, represented as the ultimate “value”.

The original music was composed by Sharokh Yadegari. Set design: Ian Wallace. Costumes: Jaymee Ngerwigchit. Director's assistant: Tom Dugdale. Light design: Gábor Tompa.

The next performance will take place on June 12th at 9 pm.