The Hungarian Theatre of Cluj returns to Varna with Exit the King

The company of the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj will once again participate in this year’s International Black Sea Theater Festival in Varna, Bulgaria. At the festival’s second edition, the company will perform Eugène Ionesco’s Exit the King, directed by Gábor Tompa.

The performance will take place on Thursday, September 24, at 8:00 p.m. in Varna, on the main stage of the Stoyan Bachvarov State Theater. Cluj audiences can catch the performance next on September 18 and October 9, both at 8:00 p.m. on the main stage of the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj.

Following the show in Varna, Exit the King will be performed in October at the 36th National Theater Festival in Bucharest, and in November at the 10th Interferences International Theatre Festival in Cluj.

The second edition of the International Black Sea Theater Festival will be held in Varna between September 23 and 28. This year’s program features ten performances from Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Italy, and Croatia. The festival aims to showcase current productions by theater companies from Bulgaria and greater Europe, fostering dialogue between different theatrical cultures. In addition to theater performances, the program includes master classes, creative workshops, exhibitions, book launches, and thematic discussions.

Last September, the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj also was part of the first edition of the International Black Sea Theater Festival, where it introduced itself to the Varna audience with Gábor Tompa’s staging of I Am the Wind.

At the center of Ionesco’s play is King Bérenger I, who is unable to accept his impending death. The dying monarch is both a king and an ordinary man: seated on the throne of his own life, he is confronted with the gradual disappearance of his power, his world, and ultimately his own person.

“Gábor Tompa has created an utterly chilling, provocative, visceral performance — an eloquent reflection of irreversibility,” wrote Alexandru Jurcan about the production.

The lead role of the play is portrayed by Ervin Szűcs, with Csilla Varga, Csilla Albert, Lóránd Váta, Hannah Daradics and Ferenc Sinkó in additional roles.

The production's creative team is made up of: set designer András Both, costume designer Angéla Balogh, composer Csaba Boros, choreographer Ferenc Sinkó, lighting designer Romeo Groza, puppet maker Ilona Varga-Járó and assistent director Dorottya Képíró. The production is based on György Gera’s Hungarian translation.

Tickets for the Varna production of Exit the King can be purchased online at www.eventim.bg. Tickets for the Cluj performances available at the theater's box office and online at huntheater.biletmaster.ro.