THE SUIT IS IN THE COMPETITION PROGRAMME OF SZEMLE PLUS
The Maladype Theatre has been defining character of the lives of Hungarian and international independent theatres for twenty-five years. The troupe, which has been founded by Zoltán Balázs, during the quarter of the last century, can become well known because of their individual creative view, their continuous wish to try new things and theatrical language, which reaches over genres, while their performances have stood for the contemporary Hungarian theatre on many prestigious festivals of the world.
One of the most important event of the jubilee season was the Hungarian premiere of Can Themba’s worldwide famous work, of The Suit. The performance was made in cooperation with the METTRIN Arts Centre; it was put on stage by Zoltán Balázs, with Adrián Kovács’ new music. The speciality of the performance is that it combines the music world of jazz with the tools of opera, that way an outstanding multidisciplinary performance was born, which builds on the expressive power of the music, the theatre and the movements at the same time.
After its premiere, the performance can be watched in the competition programme of Szemle Plus on the Open Air Stage of Városmajor on 29th August.
Can Themba’s most famous writing can lead the viewers into South Africa in the era of apartheid. There is a married couple in the middle of the story, whose life has been ruined by a humiliating revenge. The individual drama studies the questions of power, oppression, dignity and the hurting of the soul, meanwhile gives a picture of the inhuman operation of a complete social system.
Barna Kelemen Bányai performs Philemon, the husband, whose loyalty has been moved deeply, Csilla Radnay in the role of Matilda, can perform the fine nuances of vulnerability and inner struggle, while Ferenc Fehér performs the figures of the lover and the suit, which is presented all through the performance, and becomes a symbol at the same time. The three actors’ performance is followed by live music, which plays Adrián Kovács’ composition, they strengthen that way the special atmosphere of the performance.
Zoltán Balázs’ staging does not choose the road of traditional story telling: he builds with associative pictures, musical and visual motifs, where the humour, the absurd and the surreal elements have the same important roles. In the dramaturgy of the performance, the text, the music, the movement, the view and the sounding are built closely on one another, while Adrián Kovács’ music connects the rhythms of afro-jazz, marabi, mbaganga and kwela with European and Hungarian musical traditions.
The Maladype Theatre during the last quarter of the century has gone on such a creative way, in the centre of which there is the continuous revival. The work of the troupe is defined by the intensity of their workshops, the searching of the artistic presence, the overthinking of theatrical places and the vivid dialogue, which they have with their viewers. Thanks for this view, the Maladype can be one of the most exciting and internationally accepted Hungarian workshops of the contemporary theatrical thinking.
24.hu, 2026.08.10.
(translated by: Veronika Fülöp)
One of the most important event of the jubilee season was the Hungarian premiere of Can Themba’s worldwide famous work, of The Suit. The performance was made in cooperation with the METTRIN Arts Centre; it was put on stage by Zoltán Balázs, with Adrián Kovács’ new music. The speciality of the performance is that it combines the music world of jazz with the tools of opera, that way an outstanding multidisciplinary performance was born, which builds on the expressive power of the music, the theatre and the movements at the same time.
After its premiere, the performance can be watched in the competition programme of Szemle Plus on the Open Air Stage of Városmajor on 29th August.
Can Themba’s most famous writing can lead the viewers into South Africa in the era of apartheid. There is a married couple in the middle of the story, whose life has been ruined by a humiliating revenge. The individual drama studies the questions of power, oppression, dignity and the hurting of the soul, meanwhile gives a picture of the inhuman operation of a complete social system.
Barna Kelemen Bányai performs Philemon, the husband, whose loyalty has been moved deeply, Csilla Radnay in the role of Matilda, can perform the fine nuances of vulnerability and inner struggle, while Ferenc Fehér performs the figures of the lover and the suit, which is presented all through the performance, and becomes a symbol at the same time. The three actors’ performance is followed by live music, which plays Adrián Kovács’ composition, they strengthen that way the special atmosphere of the performance.
Zoltán Balázs’ staging does not choose the road of traditional story telling: he builds with associative pictures, musical and visual motifs, where the humour, the absurd and the surreal elements have the same important roles. In the dramaturgy of the performance, the text, the music, the movement, the view and the sounding are built closely on one another, while Adrián Kovács’ music connects the rhythms of afro-jazz, marabi, mbaganga and kwela with European and Hungarian musical traditions.
The Maladype Theatre during the last quarter of the century has gone on such a creative way, in the centre of which there is the continuous revival. The work of the troupe is defined by the intensity of their workshops, the searching of the artistic presence, the overthinking of theatrical places and the vivid dialogue, which they have with their viewers. Thanks for this view, the Maladype can be one of the most exciting and internationally accepted Hungarian workshops of the contemporary theatrical thinking.
24.hu, 2026.08.10.
(translated by: Veronika Fülöp)