14. 07. 2021

END OF SEASON FOR THE HUNGARIAN THEATER OF CLUJ

During the season-end meeting of the company, manager Gábor Tompa summed up the 2020/2021 season. The general manager of the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj stated that the institution weathered a challenging season due to the global pandemic, yet despite that, the theatre did not stop its activity for a single moment, the company worked continuously, creating new performances even during the period when the theatre was closed to the public, broadcasting performances for free online.

Due to public health restrictions, the 7th edition of the Interferences International Theatre Festival also took place in an unconventional way - online. The event that took place between November 19-29, 2020, featured 34 recorded performances broadcasted online, viewed by 35,944 people from 54 countries around the world.

The theatre celebrated World Theater Day by broadcasting two of its earlier performances: Mihai Măniuţiu's 2003 staging of The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, and Mikhail Bulgakov’s drama The Cabal of Hypocrites, a production directed by Gábor Tompa in 1995. This was also the company's way to pay homage to its honorific member, András Csíky, who was awarded the Kossuth Prize for his life's work in 2021.

At the initiative and with the participation of the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj, as well as the cooperation of the Hungarian Writers' League of Transylvania and Erdély TV, a thirteen-part cultural series entitled ALTER-TANTERV was launched in ETV in January, primarily designed for high school students. Within the framework of this programme well-known poets, writers, literary historians and literary critics have approached the different eras of Hungarian literature in an exciting journey through time. The aim of the ALTER-TANTERV was to provide a wider space for approaching the high school level curricula of Hungarian literature, from a broader, novel perspective, with the aim of encouraging younger and older generations to read poetry, prose, drama, and thus receive all the riches that Hungarian literature has gifted us throughout the centuries. The video clips of the series can be viewed on Erdély TV’s YouTube channel, on the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj’s website at the Educational menu, and on the theatre’s Facebook page. The main sponsor of the series was the Communitas Foundation.

The theatre was able to present three of the premieres scheduled for the 2020/2021 season. The documentary-play written by András Visky, made in co-production with the Gyula Castle Theatre, directed by Árpád Árkosi and entitled Porno – The Story of My Wife was presented to the Cluj audiences for the first time under unusual circumstances, on the Someș River bank. Following the reopening of the theatre in May, the world premiere of the musical Animal Farm directed by Zoltán Puskás and based on George Orwell's novel could take place, followed on July 10, by Attila Vidnyánszky Jr.’s staging of Romeo and Juliet, thus ending the premieres of the season.

In addition to the performances presented locally, the Cluj company also went on tour and took part in a festival. Carei and Zalău audiences could view the production of Porno – The Story of My Wife in June in their on cities. A Doll’s House won Botond Nagy the award for Best director (ex aequo) from the Ministry of Human Resources at the XXXIIIth edition of the Kisvárda Festival of Hungarian Theatres.

In our next, 229th season, which debuts in August, such famous directors as Yuri Kordonsky, Silviu Purcărete, Andrei Șerban and László Bocsárdi will grace our stages with their creations, Attila Vidnyánszky Jr. also returning once again to work with the Cluj company.

In the 2021/2022 season, Gábor Tompa will stage William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet with Miklós H. Vecsei in the title role, while Ferenc Sinkó will direct a contemporary German drama entitled Seymourt, a Studio Hall production.

Next season will see the launch of the Union des Théâtres de l’Europe’s international project called CATASTROPHE, with the participation of 15 European theatres. The aim of the project is to create international co-productions based on ancient Greek dramas that rethink the common European past and future in the spirit of its tradition and memory, while honoring its linguistic and cultural diversity. Directed by Gábor Tompa, the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj, alongside the State Theatre of Constanța, and the Slovenian National Theatre in Ljubljana, will create a four-language performance based on Aeschylus’ tragedy Prometheus Bound and Samuel Beckett's drama entitled Catastrophe.

The first premiere of the 2021/2022 season will take place on September 1, when viewers will get to see A. P. Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, directed by Yuri Kordonsky.

Tickets for the August and September performances can be purchased online at www.biletmaster.ro until August 15, while starting from August 16 they will continue to be available both online and at the theatre’s ticket office.

The company of the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj wishes everyone a beautiful summer! We very much look forward to welcoming our audiences back for our 2021/2022 season!