Translated by András Pályi

Director: Zoltán Balázs

“Is it a law against it? If it were a law I would not follow it blindly, I am free.”- says Prince Philip at the beginning of the play. After meeting Yvonne, the heir to the throne feels like he has to rebel against every convention. In addition to the constraints of social norms, his desire for freedom imposes limits on instincts and human nature. He gets engaged to Yvonne, who thus gets introduced to the royal court, and from now on she plays the role of a touchstone: in this relationship with Yvonne, all the other characters must answer the question asked by him. Yvonne’s silent presence acts as a catalyst. Her role is nothing more than the embodiment of a scenic schema. Yvonne does not exist as a dramatic figure, only as a role.

Gombrowicz heroes’ basic, inner-drive is: to find each other at all costs. “I need people. Not to get along with them. Just them to show sign of life. “- he writes. However, his heroes do not understand each other - they can’t - they only show each other a “sign of life”: this is how Yvonne will be a dramatic vision of life, a linguistic compound...

For Gombrowicz, the recipient of the work has a particular importance, he sees it as the most important forum: he has shown from the beginning the increased interest in that specific relationship between the narrator and his audience.

If, as Susan Sontag says, the main endeavor of modern art is to “go beyond psychology”, then this is unconditionally valid for Gombrowicz as well, and in this aspect, it can be somewhat related to the representatives of anti-theater. As a writer, he refers to civilization schemes as forms, which exist in the minds of the audience: Gombrowicz is interested in the “concussion” of the audience consciousness.

(András Pályi)

Cast:

King Ignatius: Gáspár Mesés
Queen Margaret: Andrea Lukács
Prince Philip: Kornél Ádám
Chamberlain: Brigitta Erőss
Izabella: Brigitta Dőry / Erika Vincze
Yvonne’s aunt / Innocente: Lilla Zsenák
Yvonne: XXX

Creators:

Set Designer: Zoltán Balázs
Costume Designer: Anikó Németh
Motion Sculptors: Brigitta Erőss & Simon Jáger
Creative producer: Sylvia Huszár
Production manager: Katalin Balázs
Directed by Zoltán Balázs

Opening Night: 25/1/2020, Fészek Art’s Club, Theatre Hall, Budapest

Running time: 80 mins without interruption

Tour:
23. Journées Théâtrales de Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia - 2022
Tamási Áron Theatre, Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania - 2022
Studio Theatre, Târgu Mureș, Romania - 2022
Mosaic National Theatre Meeting, Kápolnásnyék - 2022
House of Arts, Kisvárda - 2022
Katona József National Theatre, Kecskemét - 2022
V. Pristina International Theatre Festival, Kosovo - 2021
Bartók Chamber Theatre, Dunaújváros - 2021
Bitef Theatre, Belgrade, Serbia - 2021
XXX. Without Borders Theatre Festival, Poland - 2021
XIV. International Gomrowicz Festival, Radom, Poland - 2020

Awards:
Main Prize - XIV. International Gomrowicz Festival, Radom, Poland - 2020
Audience Prize - XIV. International Gomrowicz Festival, Radom, Poland - 2020
Prize for collectiv acting work - XIV. International Gomrowicz Festival, Radom, Poland - 2020

With the support of the Ministry of Human Capacities (EMMI)
and the National Cultural Found (NKA)