13th Madách International Theatre Meeting

The working relationship over the past two decades and the close friendship between the legendary Russian director Anatoly Vassiliev and Mari Törőcsik are well known among Hungarian theatre lovers. The period spent with Vassiliev's company and the in-depth work that took place there was captured in this documentary by Gyula Maár, providing a glimpse into the operation of a unique theatre from behind the scenes.

The title of our series is borrowed from Eugenio Barba and Nicola Savarese’s dictionary of theatre anthropology. This lavishly illustrated publication by the Károli Könyvműhely [Károli Book Workshop] and L'Harmattan Publishers is the fruit of many years of the authors’ research which, unlike most Western investigations, provides an empirical approach to the performing arts.

The Theatre olympics are one of the most prestigious, professionally and socially significant events in the world of theatre, founded in 1994, on the initiative of the renowned Greek theatre director Theodoros Terzopoulos. It shows an outstanding recognition of the Hungarian theatre life and of the Madách International Theatre Meeting (MITEM) that the Professional Committee of the International Theatre olympics has awarded Hungary the right to host the next, 10th (jubilee) games in 2023, on the 200th anniversary of the birth of Imre Madách.

The workshop is an introduction to the renowned and influential method of Theordoros Terzopoulos that is being taught in International Drama Academies, Drama Schools and Universities, and has inspired actors all over the world.

“Ah, in this tumult wild, What shall become of that self locked in me.” – It has a powerful message that this time the organisers have not chosen a new motto for the Madách (Imre) International Theatre Meeting, but kept the quote chosen before the pandemic.

As you all know, in 2020, the Madách International Theatre Meeting, MITEM, was cancelled due to the pandemic situation. We have twice tried to postpone the programme to a new date, but COVID-19 did not allow us to hold the festival.  The good news is that MITEM can be hold this year, in 2021, between September 17th and October 9th. The details of the rich programme will be presented to the press on Monday, August 23rd.

After the presentation of personal testimonies and poems that evoke the figure of the poet, a portrait film of him will be screened. A multilingual, representative volume that consists of the text of the performance presented, illustrated by photos, will be available for purchase.