The Hungarian actors have fixed legs, György Cserhalmi, the artist with perfect moving culture and even acrobatic abilities, said it once. It meant that here we have psychological, realistic performing, so in most of the performances the actors are standing and sitting, and telling the text with different levelled empathy. While in happier theatrical cultures, not to go far away, for example in Polish and Romanian that is more stylistic, so the method of performance, which is connected more that mother tongue of theatre needs more movements and high levelled physical preparedness. Of course, in Hungary there have been always exceptions. When Jirí Menzel in the József Katona Theatre during a rehearsal period, which was full of conflicts, he directed Gozzi’s play, The Deer King, there was an actor, János Bán, who seemingly very naturally was suitable for this necessity of this elevated moving, which Menzel would like to except from the others too. As the director and actor with an Oscar Award, when he performed in a guest role in the József Katona Theatre, in the wonderful comedy, in the Pension for Single Gentlemen, he arrived on the stage, so lazily flipping into an armchair, so everybody could admire him, who watched it.

The young generation of today’s Hungary is of course, more prepared on their fields, than the older one was. It can be thanked for many musicals from one side, in which they have to dance, however in these performances many times the prosaic scenes are the most conventional ones. Since then Andrea Ladányi has become the leader of dancing course in the University of Theatre and Film Art, she makes all generations work hard, wonderful exam performances can prove it. Around the József Katona Theatre the situation has changed a lot. Yvette Bozsik likes to put actors and dancers next to each other and then she makes the earlier ones dance and the later ones perform.

But the is a troupe, the Maladype Theatre, whose members take part regularly on trainings, their stamina is enviable, and in reality it cannot be said, if they are prosaic actors or artists of movements instead. Their leader is Zoltán Balázs, he learned to be a theatrical artist in Paris, he is a director and an actor at the same time. From the beginning, he has differed from the realistic style. He has celebrated ceremony-like theatre, with the emphasised presence of music and vision. Sometimes I have felt the same, that the strong conception, and the hard working of the group push the individualities behind, there are fewer individual performances, it is hardly “training”, what I see. It has resulted in coldness, affection and monotony. But by now the regular work seems to get its reward. In spring, the performance of Leonce and Lena has already been gracefully playful in the Bárka Theatre. The actors learnt all scenes in four different versions. As the members of the auditorium, we could order, if we wanted to watch any scenes in different version and with different cast. The prose has become equal to the moving. The actors could stand on one another, they could form pyramids or walk on narrow planks, while they were telling convincingly Büchner’s lines. There was show and trial of strength in it too, to show that how many things could a troupe perform, but it melted up in the playfulness, in the ingenious improvisation. In the present performance of the Egg(s)Hell in the New Studio of Thália Theatre the actors hardly tell any words or cry something out. Anyway we can see an hour and half-long moving at one go, mostly on Ravel’s music. But it is not dance, especially is not ballet, it is more warming, joyful, childish mischief, it seems like children with huge fantasy would do tricks, they would play with everything – even with themselves too – which comes into their hands. They try out what they can use these things. They kiss for example the eggs into each other’s mouth. Or they even sniff up into themselves with narcotic pleasure the raw egg. They are throwing to one another a ball with egg shape, they are posing in a tricky way, as they are playing displacing in real life. They run against the wall with silly energy, as they would like to get out of the world. Some things have been fixed before, but anyway they improvise freely. They have tried out their own possibilities too. Thirty puppet flamingos, who are living partners sometimes, serve as a set. They are pushing them, as they are forming an army from them, they hide behind them, or even dance with them. They are wondering then sometimes get into increased state of Bacchanalia, they deliver their bodies to the others, and without being ashamed to us too. They put on display their virtues and mistakes. They ask the basic question of theatre. That how much the actors can be taken according to their physical and mental strain, without suffering any permanent injuries.

Pál Frenák has dealt with similar dilemmas for a while, who tries to mix different genres too. He connects dancing with circus-like acrobatics. He expects abilities of an actor from his dancers. He connects mental revelation with real nudeness. His performance from last year, the Instinct spoke about that how hopelessly we have been alone. His performance in Trafó, last year, the Intime was about how much bodies try to get against one another, how much they desire touch, the cuddling to one another, the mixing, and what kind of social loneliness comes from it in the end. Then social lies would disappear, the body requires its properties, it explodes the formed out relationships, it pries apart all borders and here we get to the silly Bacchanalia. The senses riot, the nerves dances acrobatic dances, the tempo becomes maddening, the performers have become sweaty. As Balázs, Frenák also chases their actors to ecstasy, the basic mood of the two performances are different anyway. The Egg(s)Hell frees the hormones of happiness firstly, the mixture of playfulness and pleasure, while it is the declaration of love about theatre too. Frenák is more liturgical. He performs the destroying powers. He has been more grotesque, sarcastic, tricky as in the Tricks Tracks or in case of The Boys. Now he is more lethargic. He tries to widen the borders too. He has been more powerful, he has been better too, what he has choreographed, but now there is now sign of steadiness, we can feel that he does not only chase the body till the end, his brain is working too, he tries to give out everything from himself, what he can. He does not make a performance to lazy viewers with season tickets, and he does not work with experienced, steady actors. As wall as the troupe of Maladype Theatre too. Most of the Hungarian theatres are lazier than they are. But thanks for their raising effect too something is moving anyway.

Gábor Bóta, Népszava, 2008

(translated by: Veronika Fülöp)