VII. Madách International Theatre Meeting

“An artist moved by inspiration. She lives not by her tools, but the lack of them... What she does is as fateful and inevitable, capricious and unpredictable as a dream, full of the infallible patterns of brilliant improvisation. She is an exceptional mediator.”
The lines above were written by János Pilinszky about one of the greatest figures of the Hungarian theatre history, Mari Törőcsik. We remember her on 21st September 2021 in the National Theatre and evoke her inspired being for a theatrical evening. This evocation is of course an impossible undertaking: her unique, unrepeatable and magical personality cannot be replaced. The loss of her stays both in the theatre and our life in general.

However, her modesty, credibility and vitality can be an example: we would like to follow in her steps this evening. Moreover, holding on to Mari with a naive faith, we would like to show an example of generosity and transcending. That in this common homeland, even if only for one evening, we can turn to each other with open hearts and pure intentions as a sign of our love and respect for Mari Törőcsik.
For this evening the memory of Mari Törőcsik, the “exceptional mediator”, overshines the space where the most diverse artists and generations shake hands with each other, from Róbert Alföldi to Attila Vidnyánszky, from Juli Básti to Dorottya Udvaros, from Anatolij Vasziljev to the Stalker Group, from Gyula Bodrogi to the young awardees of the Törőcsik Scholarship.

For we believe that we are united by the Theatre, Humanity and the humble respect for a great Artist. “She is an extraordinary soul who belongs to nobody and everybody at the same time” – continues Pilinszky about her fried, Mari. our hope is that for this one night, Mari will belong to everyone and to both the Hungarian and the universal theatre.

László Bérczes