09. 09. 2022

START OF THE 230TH SEASON AND THE 8TH EDITION OF THE INTERFERENCES INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL AT THE HUNGARIAN THEATRE OF CLUJ

Gábor Tompa, Director of the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj, presented the plans for the 2022/2023 season at a the fall’s first press conference. It will be an eventful season for the Cluj company, with plans for the renovation and modernization of the theatre underway and the 230th anniversary of the theatre's foundation being celebrated this December. At the same time, the 150th anniversary of the birth of Jenő Janovics, the 200th anniversary of the birth of Sándor Petőfi and the 125th anniversary of the birth of Áron Tamási will be commemorated during the theatre's jubilee season.

The first premiere of the 2022/2023 season will be linked to the 125th anniversary of Áron Tamási: the author's drama Ancestral Comfort will be performed on October 5, in the theatre's Main Hall, directed by László Béres.

In October, the international co-production PROMETHEUS'22, directed by Gábor Tompa, will have its Ljubljana premiere. Subsequently, the production will be performed seven additional times at the SNT Drama Ljubljana. The performance is a co-production of the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj, the State Theatre of Constanţa and SNT Drama Ljublajana

The 8th edition of the Interferences International Theatre Festival will take place between November 17-27. The festival, which will be held in person once again, bears the subtitle Fear/Hope. During the eleven days of the festival, companies such as Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne from Switzerland, Odéon - Théâtre de l'Europe, Atelier 3+1 and Collectif A from France, and the National Theatre of São João from Portugal will visit Cluj-Napoca, alongside the National Theatre of Luxembourg and the State Theatre of Constanţa, and the Lee Jaram company from South Korea will return to our city, this time with a pansori adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's novel The Old Man and the Sea. The performances will be accompanied by professional talks, audience encounters, book launches, and exhibitions.

After the festival, László Bocsárdi will start rehearsals for the main stage adaptation of Zsigmond Móricz's novel Relations in December, with the premiere of the production being scheduled for January. István Szabó K., who will be working for the first time with the Cluj company, will also stage Dezső Kosztolányi's novel Sweet Anna, a Hungarian classic, in the theatre's Studio Hall. Thereafter, Gábor Tompa will stage a two-character play entitled I Am the Wind by contemporary Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse, also for the theatre's Studio Hall.

In February, Uncle Vanya will be performed with a new cast, meaning Andrei Șerban's tetralogy of Uncle Vanya, Hedda Gabler, Cries and Whispers, and Oedipus will be back for the 2022/2023 season.

The last production of the season is directed by Botond Nagy; Elektra, an adaptation by Ágnes Kali and Botond Nagy based on Euripides, Eugene O'Neill, Jean Giraudoux, Carl Gustav Jung, and Richard Strauss.

Gábor Tompa said that the theatre has received several invitations to the Theatre Olympics to be held in Hungary in the spring of 2023, with various performances, including to Miskolc, Szeged, Pécs, and Budapest. At the same time, he expressed his hope that festival participations by the company that were cancelled due to the pandemic could be carried out this season.