Zoltán Balázs has put on stage in the Gergely Csiky Hungarian National Theatre in Temesvár, such a strict and punctually organised performance (Return of Ulysses), in which theatre and opera music are presented at the same time. The director’s career is impressive: he studied from Robert Wilson, took part in Josef Nadj and Anatoly Vasilyev’s workshops. He has performed theatre, puppet theatre, opera, he has performed on stage and in films himself. Since 2003, he has been the leader of Maladype, independent theatre. I have seen four of their performances, if I had to characterize the troupe, I would mention: openness, naturalness, pleasure to play and playfulness, easy movements, fast reaction, sharp observation and artistic punctuality. The director mostly builds his performances on actors’ freedom and the viewers’ involvement (the viewers often become active participants of his performances). It is that kind of journey, because of which you can feel yourself in a privileged position many times.

Alfred de Musset: Lorenzaccio (d. Sándor Zsótér)

This performance was the Hungarian premiere of this play: this is the first time that Alfred de Musset’s text is put on stage. The visuality of Sándor Zsótér, the director’s performance is very powerful: it shows the meanings of words on the language of pictures. The set is easy, the red gloves is the only extreme element of it. The actors are expressive physically and vocally (the changing from soft to threatening can happen with the pushing of a pedal). The mobility of gestures are strengthened by fast adaptation to situations, which makes you take care of the smallest gestures too – these can help you understand their meanings.

The performance is around the hands, which are hidden, and which are planning an assassination. The wearing of these gloves can be understood by words: the actors are wearing gloves all through the performance, and while they are turning red balls with their knitting needles, and forming their plans. Sometimes they send replies to the other character by blowing them into rubber glowers – it is a very pragmatic solution too. The pile of red gloves marks the place of outreaching hands, so those people’s place, who are all waiting for the change, which Lorenzaccio has to fulfil, and which we will do too after a proper measuring: he kills Alessandro De Medici, the tyrant of Firenze. In the story, the characters are pampered, spoiled them, or they are even helped, for example when they try to bring back to life the tyrant’s dead body.

On the table we can see another pile of red gloves. Some of them hanging from the table, others are on one another in a pile. This is the last scene, which marks, that the story could be ended here. However, nothing has changed with the killing of the tyrant.

Daniela Magiaru, Orizont, 2010

(translated by: Veronika Fülöp)