08. 07. 2019

THE END OF AN EVENTFUL SEASON AT THE HUNGARIAN THEATRE OF CLUJ

In spite of the financial difficulties affecting Romania’s theatres, the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj ended a busy theatrical season on Monday, July 8. The 2018/2019 season’s review includes eight premieres, as well as the 6th edition of the Interferences International Theatre Festival. The new productions were as follows: The Merchant of Venice – as a Main Stage performance, while the Studio Hall and studio space performances carried out include Under Construction, (In)Visible, A Doll’s House, Las Meninas, Mercenaries – Corneliu Seghedi’s Tender Touch, Concord Floral, as well as the coproduction between the Bucharest Nottara Theatre and the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj, Jonah.

According to Artistic and Managing Director Gábor Tompa, in the 2018/2019 season, the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj paid special attention to the staging of the winning proposals of the 2017 Competition for Young Theatre Directors. Of the four winning projects, three were produced in 2019, namely: (In)Visible (d. Leta Popescu), Las Meninas (d. Andrei Măjeri) and Mercenaries – Corneliu Seghedi’s Gentle Touch (d. Ioana Păun).

During the 2018/2019 season, the company had 140 performances at its headquarters in Cluj-Napoca, reaching a whopping total of 21,038 viewers, including those who attended guest performances housed at the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj. An additional 1322 viewers have enjoyed our productions on tour and at distinct theatre festivals throughout the season. With audiences attending also the 25 productions included within the Interferences International Theatre Festival, the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj’s total number of viewers for the 2018/2019 season was no fewer than 28,358.

Alongside its busy schedule, the company also honored several prestigious theatrical festival invitations. Prior to attending the Sfântu Gheorghe Days, Illegitimate was included in the program of no fewer than three theatrical festivals in October 2018. At the beginning of October, the production was presented at Tranzit Feszt in Satu Mare, to great public and critical success. Subsequently, it was featured in the schedule of the International Meetings of the National Theatre in Cluj, as well as within the FESTin pe Bulevard Festival, organized by the Nottara Theatre in Bucharest, where it won the awards for Best Performance, as well as Best Actor in a Leading Role - for Miklós Bács’ portrayal of Viktor.

Within the program of the National Theatre Festival in Bucharest, the event’s audience was able to enjoy the performance Angels in America I and II in a live broadcast from the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj’s Studio Hall.

At the awards ceremony held this year, the Romanian Association of Theatre Artists (UNITER) awarded Gábor Tompa the prize for Best Director of 2018, for his production of The Merchant of Venice.

As part of the traditional annual exchange of performances between the two Hungarian language theatre companies, the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj performed The Merchant of Venice and Homemade on the stage of the Comedy Theatre of Budapest (Vígszínház), while the Vígszínház’s company honored Cluj audiences with two additional guest performances, namely The Guard and The Penthesilea Program.

The Hungarian Theatre of Cluj’s 227th season will begin in August, with its participation within the 10th edition of the Hungarian Days of Cluj, when audiences can enjoy the following productions: A Doll’s House on August 20, in the Studio Hall, and The Merchant of Venice on August 21, in the Main Hall of the institution.

“Six premieres are scheduled to be presented in the 2019/2020 season. Preparations for the first premiere of the new season are already underway, with Enikő Eszenyi staging Frank Wedekind's Lulu. The premiere is scheduled to take place on September 6, 2019. Moreover, one of the highlights of our next season will be organizing the 18th edition of the Festival of the Union des Théâtres de l'Europe, which – after a 11 year intermission - will take place once again in Cluj, between November 20 and 30, 2019. The festival will showcase the productions of the union’s seventeen member theatres” - stated Gábor Tompa, the Artistic and Managing Director of the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj.