István L. Sándor: Hungarian Platonovs
The Chekov’s play on Hungarian stages
The first Hunagrian Platonov(s) were staged by Jenő Horváth but István Horvai had the first big success(es) with the play. Maybe the best performance so far has been staged by Tamás Ascher. But it is worth remembering Tamás Fodor, Péter Telihay, Gábor Rusznyák and Ivo Krobot and Jurij Kordonszkij, then Róbert Alföldi and János Szász’s staging too. And we can remember those many wonderful actors’ performances too – either in the main role or in the other similarly exciting figures.
Jenő Horváth and István Horvai’s Platonovs
As Platonov in its original version is unsuitable for staging – because of its 200 pages length and confusing branches of its motifs in the first act – all the performances of it uses some versions (mostly made for that exact performance) of it. It does not only mean the shortening of the play, but the leaving of some characters, the connection of some characters, and sometimes the over grouping of the scenes too. That is why all new Platonov performance is different. And because of the fact, that the interpretation of Chekov’s heroes become different too, as well as the theatrical language, which tries to express all these as a contemporary experience.
In Hungary the play was first performed in 1963, in Eger, with the title of Platonov’s loves (the main characters were performed by Éva Spányik, Ottó Szabó, Bűrös Gyöngyi), the director was Jenő Horváth. He (with the same title) made a television play of it in 1967. (Platonov: Iván Darvas, Voynitseva: Margit Bara, Sofia: Teri Tordai). Jenő Horváth put the play on stage in Szolnok too in 1980 (the main characters were: Sándor Téri, Irén Bordán, Csaba Ivánka).
The success of Platonov in Hungary was supported by the fact, that Nyikita Mihalkov made the film, Etudes on the piano machine in 1977, which was based mostly on the character, situations and motifs of Platonov. The film was shown in the Hungarian cinemas too in 1978 and between the educated ones it had cultic popularity. “The Etudes on the piano machine (the title is not perfect in Hungarian, in Russian it is The Unfinished play on the piano machine) was made from Chekov’s short stories and his early play, titled Platonov...” – György Spiró wrote it about the film.
“Many wonderful actors, who all know, that the Chekov-characters personal truth has a limited validity, they are tragic and funny at the same time, and they can show this ability according to the realistic traditions, without winking, illustration, taking notes. All failed lives, unfulfilled aims... The film is about the lack of something, and of Platonov’s aging and hopelessness, who is performed by Kaljagin, who becomes an ordinary overweight teacher from the once promising educated lover. While all the characters’ fate varriate his one. Anyway, the reason of this loss, according to the Chekov-dramaturgic roles, cannot be learnt from the film, even the question itself is meaningless. The ending picture relativizes on the story, which is in present tense all through the time. Next to photo shooting, this is the other method of historicism in the film, which has already created distance with the ironic showing of the acceptance of the piano machine (the technician), which is emphasized in the title too. So, everything, which we can see, is put in quotation marks more, we can always see the same thing from different point of view, and this dynamism can give very tensed, excellent rhythm to the naturalistic performing style.”
István Horvai put on stage Platonov at the same time. First he did it during the university in 1978, with György Dörner, Csaba Jakab, János Bán, Edit Frajt, Krisztina Kovács and Görbe Nóra’s performances. The Theatre newspaper remembers the “extraordinary successful performance of the university” in 1978: “The actors and the viewers were sitting so close in the room without any stage, that they were almost integrated during the performance: who spoke and acted was only one of those, who were there, because of some accidental choice, he spoke and not the viewer did, who was sitting next to him. Because of it, the responsibility for the spoken words and performed movements, was common too: the viewers could not push away easily the presence of Platonov.”
One of the interesting thing in connection with Horvai’s staging in the university was, that in one version György Dörner performed Platonov and Csaba Jakab did Voynitsev, in the other version they changed their roles, the situation was similar with Sofia and Gerkova’s roles too, which were performed by Krisztina Kovács and Nóra Görbe by turns. Anna Petrova’s role was performed by either Edit Frajt or by Erzsébet Pataki. That way, two different types of performances were born, in spite of the fact, that the other roles were constant. (Triletsky: Sándor Gáspár; Isaac: János Bán, Osip: László Földi, Sasha: Klára Leviczky, Katia: Vera Pap.) “The fact that the youngsters did not want to cut all the wilding definitely but they used them passionately and made an exceptionally vehement performance from them, gave a special tension to it. It was shocking, that they could experience the total hopelessness at that young age” – Gábor Bóta remembered the performance that way.
Horvai put Platonov on stage in the Pesti Theatre too, in the April 1981. “On the Hungarian stages, István Horvai was the one, who started the most consistently redrew our Chekov-picture” – Tamás Mészáros wrote it in connection with the performance. “He has left the compulsory »pastel nature« and tired melancholy out of the Uncle Vanya and The Three Sisters too, then in The Cherry Orchard he went on the furthest on a rigid – sometimes a little bit »two fixed« Becket-like conception. The present performance of Platonov in the Pesti Theatre is a honourable top of this series – and let me state my own opinion: it is a masterpiece. This performance – creation is between those few ones of the last decades, which can move on in reality the Hungarian staging.”
“Such a dynamic and unique performance was born in Hungary a long time ago” – Tibor Balogh thought it, he also emphasized the complexity of the interpretations of roles and the artistic performance of the group. “The performance was created with wonderful artistic work” – István Morvay wrote it. “All performances must be appreciated one by one by superlative forms. This cast has no weak point at all. [Sasha: Judit Halász; Triletsky: Géza Tordy; Anna: Erika Szegedi; Voynitsev: Sándor Lukács; Sofia: Ilona Béres; Grekova: Vera Venczel.] László Tóth Tahi’s Platonov is the high-levelled example of the full identification. The actor does not remain in our debt with any of the characteristics of this rich personality, and he makes the character similar to himself that way, that we can feel authentic all of his cries, and cutting movements.”
Tibor Balogh wrote, that “László Tóth Tahi’s performance – thanked for Horvai’s uniquely sensitive staging – could create that magic with which he was able to form that typically Russian, typically Hungarian, typically Central – European, typically from the XIX. century but typically modern figure in its whole complexity. When suddenly the music stopped, and he woke up, he came out so slowly in his old-fashioned gown, as Oblomov did, but the memory of music and some flashes of his eyes made us suddenly remember Visotsky. When he provoked, exposed, fired up some fake bonfire then burned to the ground by his talent, he talked offhandedly as Chatsky did, and as aggressively as Bazarov, but he was more similar to the Herceg Pista from the Lament for the Caretaker.” (István Csurka’s Lament for the Caretaker was performed in 1978 in the Vígszínház, it was staged by Horvai.)
Theatrical critics chose Horvai’s Platonov to be the best performance of the season 1980-81. (But there was not any awarding, as those, who ordered culture politics then, prohibited to award Mihály Kornis’ Hallelujah as the best play in that year, so the critics decided not to give out any awards. So Platonov could get the award of theatrical critics only in the December 1988.)
Platonov appeared on Hungarian stage again in 1989: Levente Kovács directed it in Szatmárnémeti. (Platonov: József Czintos, his wife: Kati Földes, the general’s wife: Kati Méhes, Voynitsev: Miklós Parászka.)
Tamás Ascher’s staging
Tamás Ascher’s staging was performed in May 1990, in the József Katona Theatre – first in Paris, than in Budapest. The Platonov was an excellent performance, which closed properly the first great era of the Katona Theatre. (Platonov: Géza Balkay, the general’s wife: Juli Básti, Sofia: Dorottya Udvaros, Voynitsev: Péter Blaskó, Triletsky: Gábor Máté.)
“It is not political theatre, it is not politically active performance. It is only about us, with heart-breaking honesty, movingly, and with as much cruelty and irony, as we would deserve” – Judit Szántó wrote about it. Then she compared the performance to Horvai’s staging: “Ascher told something totally different than Horvai did (and than probably all Platonov performances before). The older master was the more optimistic one, so he was stricter to Platonov. He could watch and judged Platonov from outside, the Platonov of the today Hungarian educated ones, who, according to him, would have had the ability to live more cleverly, to manage their own skills better to themselves and to the society. The shot Platonov would sentence himself finally, when he wiped off his name from the black board: he did not deserve even this chalk-short immorality. Ascher could watch his hero from outside and inside at the same time, and in his interview, which he gave to Liberation, he talked about the monument, which was built on behalf of people with lost soul.
Chekov made his hero tell: ...I killed this two innocent, weak women. I do not feel sorry for it, if I killed them in any other way, with wild passion, as the Spanishes did it...But that way... so stupidly, in a Russian way...” There are five more minutes than from the performance and from Platonov’s life; he does not think than that in five minutes he will die in that “Russian way”. As he has lived in the Russian way. He, the educated one. In the soul killer, soft corrupting stage of Chekov’s time, the modern version of which, we lived all in, could make Chekov’s world so fantastically and spookily alive. Tamás Ascher grabbed the parallel in the last moment, when the victims are still between and inside us”.
“Ascher here goes on with one step, than in the case of legendary performance of The Three Sisters” – a German critic wrote in in connection with guest performance of Platonov in Berlin. – “He threw himself with incredible curiosity on the figures, through their postures, gestures, rhythm of speech, he has found out life stories for them, which can write on and fill up Chekov. The characters are so frighteningly live and presented, that they can stand on stage even if they have nothing to tell. Anyway, the silent playing on and together never want to get into the foreground, in reality we can realise only in the end, and it shocks us, as the presence of the viewers, who are moving, and get confused in themselves, and enthusiastic at the same time, can free the play from all kind of obviosity.
This director could fulfil and ruin at the same time the codified convention of the Chekov-performance since Stanislavsky. The ending: the frantic violence, which reaches people suddenly, after they have moved back frightened and sobered behind the glass wall of the hall as pale masks.
The performance has been made unique by the actors’ intensity, who get the pure terror, from the ordinary life. That kind of tragedy can ruin the most comic scenes, which can rise the situations in Russia from the end of the last century to be present and usual. From the thick material of the performance, from its intensity, which causes almost physical pain, that kind of “realist theatre” will be drown, in which the actors give literally body for people, and what they play that can become the life itself, it is not illusion. It becomes a form of play, which wants the actors’ whole personalities to itself and it puts the viewers to test too. The performance is the common masterpiece of the punctuality and freedom. So those who can immerse well into the text of the actual play, they can get so far.”
Péter Telihay and Gábor Rusznyák’s performances
In 1996 happened the next Hungarian Platonov performance: Imre Csiszár staged it in Pécs. Then the next year, with the title of: Without father, Erzsébet Gaál made a performance from the play in the Várszínház. (It was her last performance.)
In 1999, Péter Telihay put it on stage in Szeged. (Platonov: Zoltán Seress, Anna Petrovna: Gizi Fekete, Sofia: Krisztina Czifra.) The performance in Szeged was emphasised made on behalf of other kind of theatrical ideas than the realistic performance in Katona. In Telihay’s staging, the actors’ performance could obviously mark the human content of the scenes, it made clear the relationships between the figures too. But the staging – in harmony with the characteristics of this version of the text – did not try to build punctually the scenes. The situations are not detailed here, and the micro situations are not specified. Not all of it was possible, because the set did not want to rise an illusion. The place in Szeged was an open theatre, which was bared until the walls, which was divided by tiny slopes and podiums. There are furniture, mostly chairs, and some armchairs, randomly in the space. They mark some stressed points. On the left side, in the middle, there is a cupboard, in the background, on the right there is a piano on a podium, in the background of the stage there is a long dining table. In this stressed theatrical space, Telihay did not put on stage those parts of text as scenes of pictures of life, which have referred to situations of life. It has become clear right after the first scene, when Telihay makes Anna Petrovna and Triletsky (Tamás Jakab), and Glagolev (Péter Andorai) and Voynitsev (Géza Fazakas) tell their texts parallel. That way he has organised a kind of simultaneous scene from them, and he did not build the situation of waiting for the guests (as Chekov did it) but he emphasized the emblematic content of the sentences instead.
This kind of building method on the stage is characteristic to the other points of the performance too. Here the appearance of different characters do not widen the situations and build it on with newer moments, but they just come up with newer topics and sounds instead into the stressed theatrical world.
In 1999, an exam performance was staged on the university from Platonov, by Andor Lukáts’ staging. In the following year Gábor Rusznyák, who was still a university student then, put the play on stage in Kaposvár. “It is a very carefully worked out performance” – Melinda Sőregi wrote about it. – “It is striking, that somebody was sleeping on the stage, at the beginning of each act. At the beginning of the first act it was Triletsky, in the second one, Platonov was. All of it cannot be accidental, it marks, that which characters we will see in a strongly »transformed« state at the end of each acts. Triletsky becomes more drunken than usual, and Platonov has to face up with death. The first part is finished with a wonderful firework, the second one is topped by a rain, which has intensifying intensity. The play of colour and lights are also opposite in the two parts. The first act is shiningly light, it happens in an unrealistic white light, the second one changes into a cave-like darkness. The rhythm of the two acts are the same: they start from the slow, sleepy laziness and reach their peak point in shockingly dramatic finishing.
The actors’ performance reach back to the most fertile era of the traditions in Kaposvár. It is psychological realism, mixed with the right amount of irony.” (Platonov: László Keszég; Voynitsev: Viktor Nagy, Anna Petrovna: Erzsébet Bodor, Sofia: Kata Fekete.)
Rusznyák made an exam performance from play in 2001 on the university in Marosvásárhely (A performance without title). Here he concentrated on just the young ones’ stories. Besides the main characters only Osip and the young Voynitsev appeared in the performance. (In the other version in Kaposvár, Rusznyák used more characters from the older ones too.) In Marosvásárhely, after leaving the figures of the everyday pictures of life, a chamber play was formed in reality, which concentrated mostly on the love complications between the characters. (Platonov: Eduárd Szabó, Trilestky: Zsolt Zayzon, Sofia: Nóra Szabadi, Anna Petrovna: Hilda Péter, Voynitsev: Csaba László, Grekova: Katalin Berekméri) Similarly, to Péter Telihay’s performance in Szeged, this one in Marosvásárhely tried to widen and even distended the frames of the realistic method of building of stage, which is offered by the play (which the performance of Katona filled with modern performing). Gábor Rusznyák made the grotesque elements more powerful on the one hand, and gave more strengthened role to the elements of mood on the other hand, in the creation of these the musical motifs has a key role. The melody of The evenings by the side of the River Moscow came back many times, and was fulfilled in the closing picture of the first act. First just three men started singing. Then the glasses of vodka appeared, one by one in their hands. Then we could hear the jazz version of The eveneings by the side of the River Moscow, its widened version, and a general dancing, bacchanal, enjoying started because of it. The party began, which left all the inhibitions behind, in which everybody tried to get rid of their frustration. Rusznyák though on freely the situation here. It happened on other important points of the performance too. The ideas of performance left the realistic situations bravely behind many times, it built them on in an associative way, and formed independently valued, many times surrealistic scenes from them.
János Szász made an exam performance from Platonov in Budapest, on the University of Theatre Arts in 2003 (The performers were: Balázs Czukor, Iván Fenyő, Kristóf Gál, Zsolt Máthé, Béla Mészáros, Dénes Száraz, Milán Vajda, Zsuzsa Járó, Adél Jordán, Patrícia Kovács, Kata Péter, Anna Szandtner.)
Performances from 2004 (Ivo Krobot and Tamás Fodor’s works)
Ivo Krobot put the play on stage in 2004 in Nyíregyháza. (Platonov: Andres Schlanger, Anna Petrovna: Olga Varjú, Sofia: Zita Széles, Voynitsev: Attila Petneházy, Triletsky: Attila Avass.) In the performance in Nyiregyhaza, the main character is more the target than the arrow. Platonov by András Schlanger was calm, happy man, who was ready to make jokes, who did not have much problem neither with life, nor with the others. That way the performance left that kind of play, which usually get key role in the performances: may Sonia recognise her former acquaintance (and lover) from the university, in Platonov. In Ivo Korbot’s performance in Nyíregyháza, Platonov simply stood in front of Sonia, opened his arms (the clown-like posture can mean greeting as well as feeling sorry for something). Yes, it is me – he told, and started talking about, what he has become – he did it loudly, laughing, without any kind of apology. Meanwhile he was hugging his wife’s shoulder, as he would accept proudly not only the fact, that he was a teacher but a father too.
In the performance in Nyíregyháza, one situation turned naturally into the other one, the scenes were connected to one another with mosaic like technique, mostly the defined frame of life of the whole scene could keep them together. Because of the result of fast changings, relationships in connection with defined situations could be formed moments by moments, as it happened in the Katona performance. (The performance in Nyíregyháza kept the most characters from the play, here were always some figures – as in the case of Chekov – who could not be got into the situation naturally.) The elements of mood became more and more emphasized. Here a pianist greeted the entering Sofia, later emotional and joyful melodies follow the play. The men stand in rows in front of the woman to be able to give their buckets to her. Shcherbak (Tibor Gyuris) – as an old home clown – hid his eyes and tried to enchant the woman of the house with funny words. Voynitsev (Attila Petneházy) smilingly turned his new woman in front of the old friend of the house, then when she let him kiss her arm, he clapped them with enthusiasm. “Cupid when you will become a soldier” – Shcherbak greeted Platonov laughing. “My breast is weak” – he said and then with a fast movement got into the pose of a tuberculous one. Krobot with these tiny clown-jokes made those funny moments of the text visible, which the Hungarian performances usually forget. (These short examples can express well the pictures of mood of the performance and it method of building, which puts the moments of gestures in the centre.)
In 2004, Tamás Fodor also put on stage a Platonov with the title of Buffoon in the theatre in Újvidék. (Platonov: Áron Balázs, Anna Petrovna: Kriszta Szorcsik, Voynitsev: Gábor Nagypál, Sofia: Kinga Mezei, Triletsky: Attila Magyar.) “In spite of the series of losses the performance is not a tragedy, it is only a tragic-comedy, which combines comic with some sadness, as the title refers to it, as the changing of the arc of the performance expresses it” – László Gerold wrote it about the performance in the Ellenfény. – “If we starts from there, that in this story everybody is a loser, and they are losers instead of being teachers in the countryside, who has ruined their life, who does not have any other consolation and (self)-justification, than that first he performed the occasional Don Juan, than the also occasional Misanthrope. After all, we rightfully think that this performance is not about mostly the Buffoon-like Platonov, but about the others. When in the ending scene Platonov, who thought himself to be the blind Oedipus, surrounded by the three caring/devoted women, left the stage, then the women are pitiful instead of him. They became the victims of self-cheating, when they thought that they are old, cowardly between those who try to be flirtatious, as he is different from them, Platonov is the right one, he is the man, who means salvation for them. However, he is just a buffoon, it is not for sure, that he is a man, as the women have thought about him, maybe he just plays the irresistible man, who overwhelms them.”
In 2004, there was one more Platonov performance, which was put on stage by Andreea Vulpe in the Csíki Kátékszínben. The next year Péter Galambos made a performance in the Summer Theatre in Zsámbék. (Platonov: Ottó Lajos Horváth, Anna: Zsuzsa Csarnóy, Triletsky: Csaba Debreczeny, Sofia: Éva Naszlady.)
Örkény Theatre, Maladype, Marosvásárhely
In 2007 Jurij Kordonszkij made a performance from the play in the Örkény Theatre with the title of: Without Father. (Platonov: László Széles, Anna Petrovna: Éva Kerekes, Voynitsev: Csaba Debreczeny, Sofia: Anikó Für, Triletsky: Pál Mácsai.) “The main new aspect and positive side of the performance of the Örkény Theatre, is its mood, which uses strong, grotesque colours, which can show very comic the represented world” – the Ellenfény wrote it, about the performance.
Similarly, to the comical ideas of performance, the drawings of the situations and figures are ruled by the grotesque colours. The grotesque ideas of performance, which rule the performance, are not just awkward in a funny way, but many times they show the figures irretrievably comic, only the illusion of human greatness can live in them. All of these are true with the restriction, as the whole performance does not questionize the human truth of the characters. All of them live through deeply and suffer from their emotional storms, love passions. All of them face up with their fate in their dilemmas and doubtful decisions. From an outside point of view, all of it can be petty and funny many times. This overall look (it is fulfilled in the ideas of performance) comes from the contrast between the director’s irony and the authenticity, which can be found in the actors’ performances.
One of the biggest virtue of the Without Father, which was put on stage by Kordonszkij, that we could see convincing performances in it, which are mostly built on the characters’ inner truth. So in the actors’ performances we cannot find any distances (if we like better: comic atmosphere), which the director’s ideas can add to the figures. As a result of it, we can see them from two different points of view at the same time. Their whole personalities are put to test in the self-crisis, which are shown in the performance, and they mostly fail them too. Somehow they seem to be pettier than their own fate, which they live through very intensively and deeply.”
In 2010, the Maladype Theatre performed Zoltán Balázs’ staging. “The performance of Maladype puts in brackets those problems of society, which are determining in the text by Chekov. And they make an emphasized performance of a generation from it” – the Ellenfény wrote it about the performance. This Platonov is mostly about the youngsters, about the world of those, who are less than thirty. In Chekov’s text the generation of fathers is represented strongly, however, in the performance of Maladype there is only one character, who is older than thirty. Vengorovich (Zsolt Páll), who melts older Chekov-figures in himself (mostly Glagolev). ... In this young »play«, which is ruled mostly by the characters under thirty, obviously love becomes the main character, the confusion of feelings, the chaos of attractions and choices, which can fill life with restlessness and unpredictability.”
In 2011, in the National Theatre of Marosvásárhely, Zsolt Harsányi put on stage a performance from the Platonov. “Zsolt Harsányi’s staging also concentrates on the eternal and ageless problem of the play: the useless people, who seem to be funny from outside, many times they are petty and minimal, and they are ruined by lows and they have a fate, which rots away slowly. Because of it those aspects of the text, which are connected more to political system and social problems, are pushed into the background” – Balázs Urbán wrote it about the performance. – “ The first act of the performance – which interprets the play from the point of view of farce – shows its more comical side, between the gags and funny performing ideas, there are more and more frightening, parts of scenes, which has darker tone. In the end, during the second act the performance becomes the useless people’s grotesque dance of death.” “There is one striking hiatus of the clear and consistently fulfilled interpretation: Harsányi has boosted the petty comedy of the happenings so far, that in the end besides the self-reflection and viable alternatives also the form disappears. Not only from the pitiful side characters, but from the main characters too, who can mostly see their own situations. Behind the collapse we can hardly see the once complete something, behind the rolled mountains of vodka, the wasted talent cannot be seen well.”
Róbert Alföldi and János Szász’s performances
In 2014, Róbert Alföldi created a performance from the play in the Radnóti Theatre with the title, Without Father. “Platonov is the centre of this well planed and well operated world on stage: Zsolt László, who shows form that way (it cannot be anything else) or the rest of it, that he never turns towards the whiny, suffering self-pity. He fights in his own way, but he does not hope.”What is that?” – this is the opening sentence of the performance, in Annamária Radnai’s translation. Zsolt László’s Platonov, with his existence tells, that “This is”. Meanwhile, everybody (women and men, lovers and friends) waits the salvation from him, all of them reflect their desires on him – or call him to account their own failures. Sasha, his wife – Marcella Andrusko – does it too, for whom the life means the un-reflected reality itself, the simple rules, which can put reality in a frame: her unquestioning devotion toward Platonov, comes from it, and her disappointment comes from it too” – Lívia Ölbei wrote it about the performance, in the Ellenfény.
“The peal point of the performance is Adél Kováts and Zsolt László’s goodbye scene at the shower, in the shower, with their virtuoso drunken state. They become wet, from many point of views. In this scene, all the wealth is shown and concentrated, because of which, it is hard to perform Chekov, but we must do it. The bottles, filled with red vine, come out of the cupboard, as in a comedy (and how beautifully the bottles are shining in the light, which are filled with red liquid), while we can see total hopelessness, the true pain and the wasted life. There are always more qualities: the wonderful Anna Petrovna starts snoring, when she falls asleep; so that is all about dreams.”
In 2017, János Szász put Platonov on stage in Kecskemét. The main character was Pál Kocsis, Triletsky: Viktor Nagy, Anna Petrovna: Gyöngyvér Bognár. Voynitsev: Zsolt Zayzon, Sofia: Fruzsina Märcz. “János Szász’s staging does not simply show a company, surrounding, which centre is the teacher, or where he is the catalyst of the happenings, but he shows everything and everybody through Platonov, all the other characters can be understood according to their relationships to him” – Balázs Urbán wrote about it. – “The performance mixes carefully and cleverly the realism with theatricality: the performance starts with basic situation of theatrical rehearsal, with private speeches, with private telephone calls, than soon after the natural surroundings of the story is created. Dóra Gyarmati rich and spectacular set, in the carefully furnished, room-sized place, shows the props of the performing traditions of Chekov-plays and the expression of the everyday Russian life, (in some of its details it shows witty theatrical references: the deckchairs for example, are decorated with Chekov’s portraits), while the carpet on the floor stylizes immediately the performance. A pair of rail is put on the lawn later, on which a little handcar is moving. The nice irony can be felt in some formation of characters, but the performance is mostly realistic – and according to the conception it is defined by Pál Kocsis, who performs Platonov. Kocsis performs a robust figure, from one block, colourfully. His performance does not leave any doubts, that Platonov is hopeless: his tries to find a way out, his half left love affairs, his intrigues and cruel insults can show in reality the phases of agony.”
The last time Platonov was performed in Nagyvárad in June 2018, the title was Without Father, and the director was Bálint Botos.
István L. Sándor, Ellenfény, 2019
(translated by: Veronika Fülöp)
The first Hunagrian Platonov(s) were staged by Jenő Horváth but István Horvai had the first big success(es) with the play. Maybe the best performance so far has been staged by Tamás Ascher. But it is worth remembering Tamás Fodor, Péter Telihay, Gábor Rusznyák and Ivo Krobot and Jurij Kordonszkij, then Róbert Alföldi and János Szász’s staging too. And we can remember those many wonderful actors’ performances too – either in the main role or in the other similarly exciting figures.
Jenő Horváth and István Horvai’s Platonovs
As Platonov in its original version is unsuitable for staging – because of its 200 pages length and confusing branches of its motifs in the first act – all the performances of it uses some versions (mostly made for that exact performance) of it. It does not only mean the shortening of the play, but the leaving of some characters, the connection of some characters, and sometimes the over grouping of the scenes too. That is why all new Platonov performance is different. And because of the fact, that the interpretation of Chekov’s heroes become different too, as well as the theatrical language, which tries to express all these as a contemporary experience.
In Hungary the play was first performed in 1963, in Eger, with the title of Platonov’s loves (the main characters were performed by Éva Spányik, Ottó Szabó, Bűrös Gyöngyi), the director was Jenő Horváth. He (with the same title) made a television play of it in 1967. (Platonov: Iván Darvas, Voynitseva: Margit Bara, Sofia: Teri Tordai). Jenő Horváth put the play on stage in Szolnok too in 1980 (the main characters were: Sándor Téri, Irén Bordán, Csaba Ivánka).
The success of Platonov in Hungary was supported by the fact, that Nyikita Mihalkov made the film, Etudes on the piano machine in 1977, which was based mostly on the character, situations and motifs of Platonov. The film was shown in the Hungarian cinemas too in 1978 and between the educated ones it had cultic popularity. “The Etudes on the piano machine (the title is not perfect in Hungarian, in Russian it is The Unfinished play on the piano machine) was made from Chekov’s short stories and his early play, titled Platonov...” – György Spiró wrote it about the film.
“Many wonderful actors, who all know, that the Chekov-characters personal truth has a limited validity, they are tragic and funny at the same time, and they can show this ability according to the realistic traditions, without winking, illustration, taking notes. All failed lives, unfulfilled aims... The film is about the lack of something, and of Platonov’s aging and hopelessness, who is performed by Kaljagin, who becomes an ordinary overweight teacher from the once promising educated lover. While all the characters’ fate varriate his one. Anyway, the reason of this loss, according to the Chekov-dramaturgic roles, cannot be learnt from the film, even the question itself is meaningless. The ending picture relativizes on the story, which is in present tense all through the time. Next to photo shooting, this is the other method of historicism in the film, which has already created distance with the ironic showing of the acceptance of the piano machine (the technician), which is emphasized in the title too. So, everything, which we can see, is put in quotation marks more, we can always see the same thing from different point of view, and this dynamism can give very tensed, excellent rhythm to the naturalistic performing style.”
István Horvai put on stage Platonov at the same time. First he did it during the university in 1978, with György Dörner, Csaba Jakab, János Bán, Edit Frajt, Krisztina Kovács and Görbe Nóra’s performances. The Theatre newspaper remembers the “extraordinary successful performance of the university” in 1978: “The actors and the viewers were sitting so close in the room without any stage, that they were almost integrated during the performance: who spoke and acted was only one of those, who were there, because of some accidental choice, he spoke and not the viewer did, who was sitting next to him. Because of it, the responsibility for the spoken words and performed movements, was common too: the viewers could not push away easily the presence of Platonov.”
One of the interesting thing in connection with Horvai’s staging in the university was, that in one version György Dörner performed Platonov and Csaba Jakab did Voynitsev, in the other version they changed their roles, the situation was similar with Sofia and Gerkova’s roles too, which were performed by Krisztina Kovács and Nóra Görbe by turns. Anna Petrova’s role was performed by either Edit Frajt or by Erzsébet Pataki. That way, two different types of performances were born, in spite of the fact, that the other roles were constant. (Triletsky: Sándor Gáspár; Isaac: János Bán, Osip: László Földi, Sasha: Klára Leviczky, Katia: Vera Pap.) “The fact that the youngsters did not want to cut all the wilding definitely but they used them passionately and made an exceptionally vehement performance from them, gave a special tension to it. It was shocking, that they could experience the total hopelessness at that young age” – Gábor Bóta remembered the performance that way.
Horvai put Platonov on stage in the Pesti Theatre too, in the April 1981. “On the Hungarian stages, István Horvai was the one, who started the most consistently redrew our Chekov-picture” – Tamás Mészáros wrote it in connection with the performance. “He has left the compulsory »pastel nature« and tired melancholy out of the Uncle Vanya and The Three Sisters too, then in The Cherry Orchard he went on the furthest on a rigid – sometimes a little bit »two fixed« Becket-like conception. The present performance of Platonov in the Pesti Theatre is a honourable top of this series – and let me state my own opinion: it is a masterpiece. This performance – creation is between those few ones of the last decades, which can move on in reality the Hungarian staging.”
“Such a dynamic and unique performance was born in Hungary a long time ago” – Tibor Balogh thought it, he also emphasized the complexity of the interpretations of roles and the artistic performance of the group. “The performance was created with wonderful artistic work” – István Morvay wrote it. “All performances must be appreciated one by one by superlative forms. This cast has no weak point at all. [Sasha: Judit Halász; Triletsky: Géza Tordy; Anna: Erika Szegedi; Voynitsev: Sándor Lukács; Sofia: Ilona Béres; Grekova: Vera Venczel.] László Tóth Tahi’s Platonov is the high-levelled example of the full identification. The actor does not remain in our debt with any of the characteristics of this rich personality, and he makes the character similar to himself that way, that we can feel authentic all of his cries, and cutting movements.”
Tibor Balogh wrote, that “László Tóth Tahi’s performance – thanked for Horvai’s uniquely sensitive staging – could create that magic with which he was able to form that typically Russian, typically Hungarian, typically Central – European, typically from the XIX. century but typically modern figure in its whole complexity. When suddenly the music stopped, and he woke up, he came out so slowly in his old-fashioned gown, as Oblomov did, but the memory of music and some flashes of his eyes made us suddenly remember Visotsky. When he provoked, exposed, fired up some fake bonfire then burned to the ground by his talent, he talked offhandedly as Chatsky did, and as aggressively as Bazarov, but he was more similar to the Herceg Pista from the Lament for the Caretaker.” (István Csurka’s Lament for the Caretaker was performed in 1978 in the Vígszínház, it was staged by Horvai.)
Theatrical critics chose Horvai’s Platonov to be the best performance of the season 1980-81. (But there was not any awarding, as those, who ordered culture politics then, prohibited to award Mihály Kornis’ Hallelujah as the best play in that year, so the critics decided not to give out any awards. So Platonov could get the award of theatrical critics only in the December 1988.)
Platonov appeared on Hungarian stage again in 1989: Levente Kovács directed it in Szatmárnémeti. (Platonov: József Czintos, his wife: Kati Földes, the general’s wife: Kati Méhes, Voynitsev: Miklós Parászka.)
Tamás Ascher’s staging
Tamás Ascher’s staging was performed in May 1990, in the József Katona Theatre – first in Paris, than in Budapest. The Platonov was an excellent performance, which closed properly the first great era of the Katona Theatre. (Platonov: Géza Balkay, the general’s wife: Juli Básti, Sofia: Dorottya Udvaros, Voynitsev: Péter Blaskó, Triletsky: Gábor Máté.)
“It is not political theatre, it is not politically active performance. It is only about us, with heart-breaking honesty, movingly, and with as much cruelty and irony, as we would deserve” – Judit Szántó wrote about it. Then she compared the performance to Horvai’s staging: “Ascher told something totally different than Horvai did (and than probably all Platonov performances before). The older master was the more optimistic one, so he was stricter to Platonov. He could watch and judged Platonov from outside, the Platonov of the today Hungarian educated ones, who, according to him, would have had the ability to live more cleverly, to manage their own skills better to themselves and to the society. The shot Platonov would sentence himself finally, when he wiped off his name from the black board: he did not deserve even this chalk-short immorality. Ascher could watch his hero from outside and inside at the same time, and in his interview, which he gave to Liberation, he talked about the monument, which was built on behalf of people with lost soul.
Chekov made his hero tell: ...I killed this two innocent, weak women. I do not feel sorry for it, if I killed them in any other way, with wild passion, as the Spanishes did it...But that way... so stupidly, in a Russian way...” There are five more minutes than from the performance and from Platonov’s life; he does not think than that in five minutes he will die in that “Russian way”. As he has lived in the Russian way. He, the educated one. In the soul killer, soft corrupting stage of Chekov’s time, the modern version of which, we lived all in, could make Chekov’s world so fantastically and spookily alive. Tamás Ascher grabbed the parallel in the last moment, when the victims are still between and inside us”.
“Ascher here goes on with one step, than in the case of legendary performance of The Three Sisters” – a German critic wrote in in connection with guest performance of Platonov in Berlin. – “He threw himself with incredible curiosity on the figures, through their postures, gestures, rhythm of speech, he has found out life stories for them, which can write on and fill up Chekov. The characters are so frighteningly live and presented, that they can stand on stage even if they have nothing to tell. Anyway, the silent playing on and together never want to get into the foreground, in reality we can realise only in the end, and it shocks us, as the presence of the viewers, who are moving, and get confused in themselves, and enthusiastic at the same time, can free the play from all kind of obviosity.
This director could fulfil and ruin at the same time the codified convention of the Chekov-performance since Stanislavsky. The ending: the frantic violence, which reaches people suddenly, after they have moved back frightened and sobered behind the glass wall of the hall as pale masks.
The performance has been made unique by the actors’ intensity, who get the pure terror, from the ordinary life. That kind of tragedy can ruin the most comic scenes, which can rise the situations in Russia from the end of the last century to be present and usual. From the thick material of the performance, from its intensity, which causes almost physical pain, that kind of “realist theatre” will be drown, in which the actors give literally body for people, and what they play that can become the life itself, it is not illusion. It becomes a form of play, which wants the actors’ whole personalities to itself and it puts the viewers to test too. The performance is the common masterpiece of the punctuality and freedom. So those who can immerse well into the text of the actual play, they can get so far.”
Péter Telihay and Gábor Rusznyák’s performances
In 1996 happened the next Hungarian Platonov performance: Imre Csiszár staged it in Pécs. Then the next year, with the title of: Without father, Erzsébet Gaál made a performance from the play in the Várszínház. (It was her last performance.)
In 1999, Péter Telihay put it on stage in Szeged. (Platonov: Zoltán Seress, Anna Petrovna: Gizi Fekete, Sofia: Krisztina Czifra.) The performance in Szeged was emphasised made on behalf of other kind of theatrical ideas than the realistic performance in Katona. In Telihay’s staging, the actors’ performance could obviously mark the human content of the scenes, it made clear the relationships between the figures too. But the staging – in harmony with the characteristics of this version of the text – did not try to build punctually the scenes. The situations are not detailed here, and the micro situations are not specified. Not all of it was possible, because the set did not want to rise an illusion. The place in Szeged was an open theatre, which was bared until the walls, which was divided by tiny slopes and podiums. There are furniture, mostly chairs, and some armchairs, randomly in the space. They mark some stressed points. On the left side, in the middle, there is a cupboard, in the background, on the right there is a piano on a podium, in the background of the stage there is a long dining table. In this stressed theatrical space, Telihay did not put on stage those parts of text as scenes of pictures of life, which have referred to situations of life. It has become clear right after the first scene, when Telihay makes Anna Petrovna and Triletsky (Tamás Jakab), and Glagolev (Péter Andorai) and Voynitsev (Géza Fazakas) tell their texts parallel. That way he has organised a kind of simultaneous scene from them, and he did not build the situation of waiting for the guests (as Chekov did it) but he emphasized the emblematic content of the sentences instead.
This kind of building method on the stage is characteristic to the other points of the performance too. Here the appearance of different characters do not widen the situations and build it on with newer moments, but they just come up with newer topics and sounds instead into the stressed theatrical world.
In 1999, an exam performance was staged on the university from Platonov, by Andor Lukáts’ staging. In the following year Gábor Rusznyák, who was still a university student then, put the play on stage in Kaposvár. “It is a very carefully worked out performance” – Melinda Sőregi wrote about it. – “It is striking, that somebody was sleeping on the stage, at the beginning of each act. At the beginning of the first act it was Triletsky, in the second one, Platonov was. All of it cannot be accidental, it marks, that which characters we will see in a strongly »transformed« state at the end of each acts. Triletsky becomes more drunken than usual, and Platonov has to face up with death. The first part is finished with a wonderful firework, the second one is topped by a rain, which has intensifying intensity. The play of colour and lights are also opposite in the two parts. The first act is shiningly light, it happens in an unrealistic white light, the second one changes into a cave-like darkness. The rhythm of the two acts are the same: they start from the slow, sleepy laziness and reach their peak point in shockingly dramatic finishing.
The actors’ performance reach back to the most fertile era of the traditions in Kaposvár. It is psychological realism, mixed with the right amount of irony.” (Platonov: László Keszég; Voynitsev: Viktor Nagy, Anna Petrovna: Erzsébet Bodor, Sofia: Kata Fekete.)
Rusznyák made an exam performance from play in 2001 on the university in Marosvásárhely (A performance without title). Here he concentrated on just the young ones’ stories. Besides the main characters only Osip and the young Voynitsev appeared in the performance. (In the other version in Kaposvár, Rusznyák used more characters from the older ones too.) In Marosvásárhely, after leaving the figures of the everyday pictures of life, a chamber play was formed in reality, which concentrated mostly on the love complications between the characters. (Platonov: Eduárd Szabó, Trilestky: Zsolt Zayzon, Sofia: Nóra Szabadi, Anna Petrovna: Hilda Péter, Voynitsev: Csaba László, Grekova: Katalin Berekméri) Similarly, to Péter Telihay’s performance in Szeged, this one in Marosvásárhely tried to widen and even distended the frames of the realistic method of building of stage, which is offered by the play (which the performance of Katona filled with modern performing). Gábor Rusznyák made the grotesque elements more powerful on the one hand, and gave more strengthened role to the elements of mood on the other hand, in the creation of these the musical motifs has a key role. The melody of The evenings by the side of the River Moscow came back many times, and was fulfilled in the closing picture of the first act. First just three men started singing. Then the glasses of vodka appeared, one by one in their hands. Then we could hear the jazz version of The eveneings by the side of the River Moscow, its widened version, and a general dancing, bacchanal, enjoying started because of it. The party began, which left all the inhibitions behind, in which everybody tried to get rid of their frustration. Rusznyák though on freely the situation here. It happened on other important points of the performance too. The ideas of performance left the realistic situations bravely behind many times, it built them on in an associative way, and formed independently valued, many times surrealistic scenes from them.
János Szász made an exam performance from Platonov in Budapest, on the University of Theatre Arts in 2003 (The performers were: Balázs Czukor, Iván Fenyő, Kristóf Gál, Zsolt Máthé, Béla Mészáros, Dénes Száraz, Milán Vajda, Zsuzsa Járó, Adél Jordán, Patrícia Kovács, Kata Péter, Anna Szandtner.)
Performances from 2004 (Ivo Krobot and Tamás Fodor’s works)
Ivo Krobot put the play on stage in 2004 in Nyíregyháza. (Platonov: Andres Schlanger, Anna Petrovna: Olga Varjú, Sofia: Zita Széles, Voynitsev: Attila Petneházy, Triletsky: Attila Avass.) In the performance in Nyiregyhaza, the main character is more the target than the arrow. Platonov by András Schlanger was calm, happy man, who was ready to make jokes, who did not have much problem neither with life, nor with the others. That way the performance left that kind of play, which usually get key role in the performances: may Sonia recognise her former acquaintance (and lover) from the university, in Platonov. In Ivo Korbot’s performance in Nyíregyháza, Platonov simply stood in front of Sonia, opened his arms (the clown-like posture can mean greeting as well as feeling sorry for something). Yes, it is me – he told, and started talking about, what he has become – he did it loudly, laughing, without any kind of apology. Meanwhile he was hugging his wife’s shoulder, as he would accept proudly not only the fact, that he was a teacher but a father too.
In the performance in Nyíregyháza, one situation turned naturally into the other one, the scenes were connected to one another with mosaic like technique, mostly the defined frame of life of the whole scene could keep them together. Because of the result of fast changings, relationships in connection with defined situations could be formed moments by moments, as it happened in the Katona performance. (The performance in Nyíregyháza kept the most characters from the play, here were always some figures – as in the case of Chekov – who could not be got into the situation naturally.) The elements of mood became more and more emphasized. Here a pianist greeted the entering Sofia, later emotional and joyful melodies follow the play. The men stand in rows in front of the woman to be able to give their buckets to her. Shcherbak (Tibor Gyuris) – as an old home clown – hid his eyes and tried to enchant the woman of the house with funny words. Voynitsev (Attila Petneházy) smilingly turned his new woman in front of the old friend of the house, then when she let him kiss her arm, he clapped them with enthusiasm. “Cupid when you will become a soldier” – Shcherbak greeted Platonov laughing. “My breast is weak” – he said and then with a fast movement got into the pose of a tuberculous one. Krobot with these tiny clown-jokes made those funny moments of the text visible, which the Hungarian performances usually forget. (These short examples can express well the pictures of mood of the performance and it method of building, which puts the moments of gestures in the centre.)
In 2004, Tamás Fodor also put on stage a Platonov with the title of Buffoon in the theatre in Újvidék. (Platonov: Áron Balázs, Anna Petrovna: Kriszta Szorcsik, Voynitsev: Gábor Nagypál, Sofia: Kinga Mezei, Triletsky: Attila Magyar.) “In spite of the series of losses the performance is not a tragedy, it is only a tragic-comedy, which combines comic with some sadness, as the title refers to it, as the changing of the arc of the performance expresses it” – László Gerold wrote it about the performance in the Ellenfény. – “If we starts from there, that in this story everybody is a loser, and they are losers instead of being teachers in the countryside, who has ruined their life, who does not have any other consolation and (self)-justification, than that first he performed the occasional Don Juan, than the also occasional Misanthrope. After all, we rightfully think that this performance is not about mostly the Buffoon-like Platonov, but about the others. When in the ending scene Platonov, who thought himself to be the blind Oedipus, surrounded by the three caring/devoted women, left the stage, then the women are pitiful instead of him. They became the victims of self-cheating, when they thought that they are old, cowardly between those who try to be flirtatious, as he is different from them, Platonov is the right one, he is the man, who means salvation for them. However, he is just a buffoon, it is not for sure, that he is a man, as the women have thought about him, maybe he just plays the irresistible man, who overwhelms them.”
In 2004, there was one more Platonov performance, which was put on stage by Andreea Vulpe in the Csíki Kátékszínben. The next year Péter Galambos made a performance in the Summer Theatre in Zsámbék. (Platonov: Ottó Lajos Horváth, Anna: Zsuzsa Csarnóy, Triletsky: Csaba Debreczeny, Sofia: Éva Naszlady.)
Örkény Theatre, Maladype, Marosvásárhely
In 2007 Jurij Kordonszkij made a performance from the play in the Örkény Theatre with the title of: Without Father. (Platonov: László Széles, Anna Petrovna: Éva Kerekes, Voynitsev: Csaba Debreczeny, Sofia: Anikó Für, Triletsky: Pál Mácsai.) “The main new aspect and positive side of the performance of the Örkény Theatre, is its mood, which uses strong, grotesque colours, which can show very comic the represented world” – the Ellenfény wrote it, about the performance.
Similarly, to the comical ideas of performance, the drawings of the situations and figures are ruled by the grotesque colours. The grotesque ideas of performance, which rule the performance, are not just awkward in a funny way, but many times they show the figures irretrievably comic, only the illusion of human greatness can live in them. All of these are true with the restriction, as the whole performance does not questionize the human truth of the characters. All of them live through deeply and suffer from their emotional storms, love passions. All of them face up with their fate in their dilemmas and doubtful decisions. From an outside point of view, all of it can be petty and funny many times. This overall look (it is fulfilled in the ideas of performance) comes from the contrast between the director’s irony and the authenticity, which can be found in the actors’ performances.
One of the biggest virtue of the Without Father, which was put on stage by Kordonszkij, that we could see convincing performances in it, which are mostly built on the characters’ inner truth. So in the actors’ performances we cannot find any distances (if we like better: comic atmosphere), which the director’s ideas can add to the figures. As a result of it, we can see them from two different points of view at the same time. Their whole personalities are put to test in the self-crisis, which are shown in the performance, and they mostly fail them too. Somehow they seem to be pettier than their own fate, which they live through very intensively and deeply.”
In 2010, the Maladype Theatre performed Zoltán Balázs’ staging. “The performance of Maladype puts in brackets those problems of society, which are determining in the text by Chekov. And they make an emphasized performance of a generation from it” – the Ellenfény wrote it about the performance. This Platonov is mostly about the youngsters, about the world of those, who are less than thirty. In Chekov’s text the generation of fathers is represented strongly, however, in the performance of Maladype there is only one character, who is older than thirty. Vengorovich (Zsolt Páll), who melts older Chekov-figures in himself (mostly Glagolev). ... In this young »play«, which is ruled mostly by the characters under thirty, obviously love becomes the main character, the confusion of feelings, the chaos of attractions and choices, which can fill life with restlessness and unpredictability.”
In 2011, in the National Theatre of Marosvásárhely, Zsolt Harsányi put on stage a performance from the Platonov. “Zsolt Harsányi’s staging also concentrates on the eternal and ageless problem of the play: the useless people, who seem to be funny from outside, many times they are petty and minimal, and they are ruined by lows and they have a fate, which rots away slowly. Because of it those aspects of the text, which are connected more to political system and social problems, are pushed into the background” – Balázs Urbán wrote it about the performance. – “ The first act of the performance – which interprets the play from the point of view of farce – shows its more comical side, between the gags and funny performing ideas, there are more and more frightening, parts of scenes, which has darker tone. In the end, during the second act the performance becomes the useless people’s grotesque dance of death.” “There is one striking hiatus of the clear and consistently fulfilled interpretation: Harsányi has boosted the petty comedy of the happenings so far, that in the end besides the self-reflection and viable alternatives also the form disappears. Not only from the pitiful side characters, but from the main characters too, who can mostly see their own situations. Behind the collapse we can hardly see the once complete something, behind the rolled mountains of vodka, the wasted talent cannot be seen well.”
Róbert Alföldi and János Szász’s performances
In 2014, Róbert Alföldi created a performance from the play in the Radnóti Theatre with the title, Without Father. “Platonov is the centre of this well planed and well operated world on stage: Zsolt László, who shows form that way (it cannot be anything else) or the rest of it, that he never turns towards the whiny, suffering self-pity. He fights in his own way, but he does not hope.”What is that?” – this is the opening sentence of the performance, in Annamária Radnai’s translation. Zsolt László’s Platonov, with his existence tells, that “This is”. Meanwhile, everybody (women and men, lovers and friends) waits the salvation from him, all of them reflect their desires on him – or call him to account their own failures. Sasha, his wife – Marcella Andrusko – does it too, for whom the life means the un-reflected reality itself, the simple rules, which can put reality in a frame: her unquestioning devotion toward Platonov, comes from it, and her disappointment comes from it too” – Lívia Ölbei wrote it about the performance, in the Ellenfény.
“The peal point of the performance is Adél Kováts and Zsolt László’s goodbye scene at the shower, in the shower, with their virtuoso drunken state. They become wet, from many point of views. In this scene, all the wealth is shown and concentrated, because of which, it is hard to perform Chekov, but we must do it. The bottles, filled with red vine, come out of the cupboard, as in a comedy (and how beautifully the bottles are shining in the light, which are filled with red liquid), while we can see total hopelessness, the true pain and the wasted life. There are always more qualities: the wonderful Anna Petrovna starts snoring, when she falls asleep; so that is all about dreams.”
In 2017, János Szász put Platonov on stage in Kecskemét. The main character was Pál Kocsis, Triletsky: Viktor Nagy, Anna Petrovna: Gyöngyvér Bognár. Voynitsev: Zsolt Zayzon, Sofia: Fruzsina Märcz. “János Szász’s staging does not simply show a company, surrounding, which centre is the teacher, or where he is the catalyst of the happenings, but he shows everything and everybody through Platonov, all the other characters can be understood according to their relationships to him” – Balázs Urbán wrote about it. – “The performance mixes carefully and cleverly the realism with theatricality: the performance starts with basic situation of theatrical rehearsal, with private speeches, with private telephone calls, than soon after the natural surroundings of the story is created. Dóra Gyarmati rich and spectacular set, in the carefully furnished, room-sized place, shows the props of the performing traditions of Chekov-plays and the expression of the everyday Russian life, (in some of its details it shows witty theatrical references: the deckchairs for example, are decorated with Chekov’s portraits), while the carpet on the floor stylizes immediately the performance. A pair of rail is put on the lawn later, on which a little handcar is moving. The nice irony can be felt in some formation of characters, but the performance is mostly realistic – and according to the conception it is defined by Pál Kocsis, who performs Platonov. Kocsis performs a robust figure, from one block, colourfully. His performance does not leave any doubts, that Platonov is hopeless: his tries to find a way out, his half left love affairs, his intrigues and cruel insults can show in reality the phases of agony.”
The last time Platonov was performed in Nagyvárad in June 2018, the title was Without Father, and the director was Bálint Botos.
István L. Sándor, Ellenfény, 2019
(translated by: Veronika Fülöp)