The story has been the subject of several illustrious adaptations [...] The Cluj performance - which was presented on April 5 - can also be included in the list, because the character portrayals, set designs, costumes, images, sounds, songs, dances, movements and the performance as a whole are memorable. It includes the bourgeoisie as portrayed by Kosztolányi and their affectations, hysterias and obsessions. It includes all the frustrations of the world of the "lower classes", the janitor (Ferenc Sinkó), the chimney sweep (Attila Orbán) and not least the maids (Andrea Vindis, Csilla Albert, Csilla Varga, Melinda Kántor, Zsuzsa Tőtszegi) and the petty games that overcome them, but also the individual woundedness of each character and their (also) resulting lack of character: the arrogance and haughtiness of the lords, the bowing, fawning and opportunism of the servants. The chorus of servant girls is at once tragic and comical, uplifting and funny: it is reminiscent of the often ominous choruses of ancient tragedies, foretelling of the fate that was about to strike, but also of the costumed performers at a nightclub, entertaining guests while they drink wine and cocktails.
[...]
Andrea Kali is superb in the big scene of emotional blackmail as Vizyné, as well as in her pairing with Zsolt Bogdán: her authentic and multifaceted performance creates a certain level of sympathy for them, the viewer can see into the damaged soul of Angéla Vizyné and feels pity, as does her bored husband.
Márta Bodó: Utalásokkal, jelekkel, szelíd képi világgal kikövezett út a lelki összeomlásig [The road to spiritual collapse paved with clues, signs and gentle imagery], Szabadság, April 25, 2023.
István Szabó K.'s staging provides a precise model of the individuals who sacrifice themselves. They sacrifice themselves to achieve their goals at the expense of anyone and anything, and so they fall in line. Or because they wish to remain human, humane. Indeed, as has been the case for decades and continues to be the case today: they wish only to justify their existence.
Dimény Patrícia: Az irgalom mauzóleuma [The Mausoleum of Mercy], Helikon, May 3, 2023.
In István Szabó K.'s direction, the maternal motif in Kosztolányi's novel, or more precisely: the painful absence of motherhood, becomes much more pronounced with this single prop in comparison to the events of the novel: the state of mind of Vizyné is given a new light, while at the same time not infringing upon the conception of the classical writer. He only further reflects and completes the novel, and thus sends us, the 'Movists', a more emphatic message: how much damage childlessness can do to a woman who wants to have children, especially when her supposedly perfect maid, her 'surrogate', suddenly wants to leave her to get married...
Katalin Gyürky: Lenne egy lány... [There would be a girl...], May 22, 2023.
We are moving on to the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj. The Édes Anna performance is a true theatrical gem, with Cartesian clockwork precision. Directed by Szabo K. István. An inspired set design (Artūras Šimonis) proposes generous, often labyrinthine spaces. I once read the eponymous novel written by Kosztolányi Dezső in 1926, which highlights sympathy for the world of small people. A canonical novel, with a well-known plot, transposed to the stage with astonishing intelligence. Impeccable performances by Román Eszter, Kali Andrea, Bogdán Zsolt, Kiss Tamás, etc. While retaining the novel's storyline, the performance adds elements that enhance its theatrical language.
The choir of maids is both excellent and functional as is the drift into the dreamlike. The scene with the children's masks remains anthological and chilling. There's the owl acting as a surveillance camera, the macabre parade with blood on garments, but also constantly simmering tensions, nuanced by fateful frustrations. [...] The director of the play has said that "Édes Anna is a novel that begs to be staged". Can empathy work beyond the boundaries of morality? The enclosed space provokes semantic references, the chorus is reminiscent of Greek tragedies, but beyond all that the stylistic unity is visible. A performance to be seen and revisited time and time again.
Alexandru Jurcan: Maraton teatral de la Cluj la Iași [Theatrical Marathon from Cluj to Iasi, Tribuna], No. 497 16-31 May 2023
It is no coincidence that István Szabó K. stated that "Édes Anna is a novel that is begging to be staged." The problem of inequality should not be ignored today. Ildikó Lőkös and István Szabó K.'s adaptation of Édes Anna makes it clear without beating around the bush that our society is built on exploitation. We exploit others in our own way, while others exploit us.
Péter Kovács Újszászy: "A novel that begs to be staged", Irodalmi jelen, April 13, 2023.
Édes Anna has a "pure heart" in a social setting marked by decay. Eszter Román convincingly embodies the shy nature of a country girl, timid and introverted, kind-hearted and uncompromising with herself. The character has a strong personality, which is well marked throughout the plot. The transition from one social environment to another is tragic for her, prompting rebellion and withdrawal into herself. Her lack of flexibility or adaptability and her innate rigidity speak of a resistance to hypocrisy and debauchery. Her pure soul rejects the masquerade of life, disappointed by her romantic relationship with Jancsi Patikárius, the arrogant, womanising and frivolous young man, impeccably played by Tamás Kiss, who is attracted by her beauty, seduces her and then insults her. Édes Anna has her innate pride and refuses to be humiliated, trampled on by a society that has no understanding for the humiliated and oppressed, even though those in her household treat her fairly, up to a point.
Adrian Țion: Sub stigmatul crimei [Under the stigma of crime], liternet.ro, November 2023
