"We want our audience to look beyond the theatrical experience, to see the world and art in its context. Our goal is to function as a kind of multidisciplinary workshop, which is much more than just theater," says Zoltán Balázs, the founder and director of the ten-year-old Maladype Theater.

We asked the actor-director about the achievements so far and the planned productions and programs for the upcoming season.

The Maladype Theater was founded in 2002 by actor-director Zoltán Balázs. It started with both Roma and non-Roma actors, and three years ago, the company moved into its own venue (the Maladype Base, a spacious bourgeois apartment located in the 8th district, Mikszáth Square). This season, in addition to its current repertoire, the company is preparing exciting new premieres, as well as new programs and events for the audience.

By now, the Maladype has become one of the most well-known and respected independent Hungarian theater companies, recognized abroad as well. Over the past decade, it has won numerous professional awards, participates every year in the POSZT (Hungarian National Theater Festival), and is regularly invited to prestigious international festivals. Their guest artists include major names such as Ilona Béres, Andrea Ladányi, Mari Törőcsik, and Sándor Zsótér. Zsótér will also be involved in the new season at the Maladype Base: he is directing a special production of Don Juan, which is a "shared" adaptation of the works of Molière, Pushkin, Byron, and Brecht (the script will be created in a new translation by dramaturg Júlia Ungár), a kind of style experiment.

The Maladype works with a permanent ensemble and creative partners, operating independently, with its activities solely funded by grant sources. "The restructuring of the funding system strongly affects us. The new support model (as is known, previously independent companies that were categorized as 'sixth' are now placed in the 'other' category under the new three-part system, alongside national and outstanding companies. It is still unclear based on what criteria and how much funding these companies will receive) has created much uncertainty, making it difficult for us to plan ahead. However, freedom is our most valuable capital, which is why we can experiment and research. Our company is strong, we are dedicated, and we won’t stop – we are constantly looking for new opportunities. We’ve been working with foreign companies for the past four or five years – I believe a theater is as valuable as the distance it travels. We have a very good relationship with our audience; there’s a fixed circle that follows us from performance to performance. Our goal is to reach as many generations as possible. This is what one of our new initiatives this season, a drama pedagogy program for children, aims to achieve," shares the founder and director of the company.

In addition to its current repertoire (including Leonce and Lena, Lorenzaccio, The Marriage of Figaro, Platonov, Egg(s)Hell, Tristan and Isolde, and King Ubu), the Maladype plans three premieres for this season. In addition to the previously mentioned Zsótér production, an unconventional double bill of Schiller’s Don Carlos and Goethe’s Egmont will debut in mid-November, directed by Zoltán Balázs. The third premiere will take place at the Radu Stanca National Theatre in Sibiu, Romania: Zoltán Balázs will direct The Master and Margarita in collaboration with the Sibiu company.

Additionally, the Maladype continues its highly successful "Free Academy" series, which will have a special theme in the new season. "We will invite a foreign artist to each of the four events to give a lecture related to our premieres – Don Carlos, Egmont, and The Master and Margarita. We will also launch our reading theater series, where the audience will become familiar with the works of contemporary writers. Among the planned works are Matei Visniec’s Richard III Banished, or Scenes from the Life of Meyerhold, Klim’s The Girl with Candles, and Reflections, a Japanese poetry collection translated by G. András Villányi, staged by invited directors with our actors' performances. Finally, we will continue our international 'crossroad' series launched last year: Viktor Ryzsakov, an artist from Moscow's Teatr Doc, will direct Selma Dimitrijevic’s The Fall of the Gods, and Vlad Troickij from Kyiv's DAKH will bring Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman to our base," we learn.

In a new development, Maladype is starting a film club – twice a month, film director Attila Janisch will invite a guest to watch Hungarian and international classics through the eyes of a director. Once a month, graphic artist István Orosz will lead art lovers on visual journeys. "We want our audience to look beyond the theatrical experience, to see the world and art in context. Our goal is to function as a multidisciplinary workshop, which is much more than just 'theater,'" says the company director.

Another new addition for the season is the Gyerekbázis (Children’s Base): a drama pedagogy program designed for preschool and primary school-aged children, held once a week. Its purpose is to introduce theater to the youngest audiences, teaching the next generation to 'see and understand' theater.

Nóra Zsigmond, Magyar Hírlap Online, 2012

Translation by Zsuzsanna Juraszek