For the 200^th anniversary of the birth of playwright Imre Madách, the Hungarian Theatre Museum and Institute is bound to prepare a montage on fifteen screens, based mostly on the performance recordings, photographs and other documents in its collections. Stage designer János Mira’s installation, housed by the first floor foyer of the National Theatre, serves as a theatrical frame to invoke Madách’s 1862 masterpiece, The Tragedy of Man. Our intention is to let the aura of theatre history shine through into the present, across the metaphorical tunnel of the installation. Those walking though, could follow the history of the Tragedy, from past to present, accompanied by the numerous actors and characters.

The directors of the performances presented are, among others: Miklós Szinetár (MTV)  László Vámos (Nemzeti), József Ruszt (Zalaegerszeg), István Illés (Győr), Béla Kolozsi (MTV), Sándor Beke (Komárom), György Lengyel (Debrecen), András Schlanger (Miskolc), Imre Csiszár (Kolozsvár), Attila Vidnyánszky (Beregszász, Szegedi Szabadtéri, Beregszász),  László Hudi (Mozgó Ház), János Szikora (Nemzeti), Gavriil Pinte (Csíkszereda), Péter Telihay (Nyíregyháza), Róbert Alföldi (Nemzeti), Kokan Mladenović (Újvidék), Géza Bodolay (Kecskemét), Imre Kerényi (Madách), András Jeles (film), István Paál (Szolnok). Recordings and photos of international stagings will evoke even more interpretations and stage designs: for instance the memorable performance by Antal Németh, and – most importantly – the Author himself.     

(18 January 2023)