Like a structure of an oratory.

“Let’s see my love, we have to be satisfied with symbols, if we talk about the inferno, as everything ends there, not only the traitorous word, but everything, and even it is its main and first characteristic, it is the first, which must be told, and the new arrival experiences it first down there, and it is, which, to make it clear, he cannot understand or accept with his correct senses first, as the common sense, or any restriction of his mental state prevent the understanding...” Thomas Mann: Doctor Faustus.

The troupe of the Maladype theatre has found a difficult task, when they put on stage the first part of the Inferno, from Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy. Of course, the huge work, cannot be put on stage on its own. So it is even a huge task, which Zoltán Balázs, the director, and Judit Góczán, the dramaturg have done before, so that they have chosen those main points, which are important and necessary, they have chosen those side characters next to the main ones, between the crowd that Dante created into the inferno, who can appear in the performance. They have made Ádám Nádasdy translate the text again, and that way they have brought it closer to the language, we speak today. Except for Vergil, the Leader’s text, he tell the lines of the traditional translation by Babits, so that way, the besides the more modern sounding parts, the archaic text by Babits can show the difference between Dante and Vergil’s languages. They have added some so-called guest texts to the original poem: form Paolo Santarcangeli’s book, Conversations with the Satan and from Thomas Mann’s novel, from Doctor Faustus. The philosophical and world-view lessons of the performance are enriched on by the prosaic parts, but the static nature of the text becomes even bigger.

With this performance Zoltán Balázs goes on with the line, on the way, which he has done before, for example, as he started with the performances of Theomachia or Acropolis, so that theatrical form, which is defined many ways, which has been called theatre of rites, of movements, but these definitions cannot cover his own style. Of course, into the present performance all of his knowledge and improvement has been built in, which is the result of the many years long common work by the director and his troupe. While Károly Kazimír’s performance in the 60s, in the Round Theatre, treated the giant epic work from the point of view of declaration theatre, since this present staging gives much bigger stress and place to the movements and choreography.

The almost musical structure of the performance is very characteristic. As we can see and listen to the structure of a big oratorio. The movements of the faceless, damned souls can stand in for the big choirs. They are going around, meeting up with and leaving each other, they are laying on one another, they can form trees, they are waving like water, they froze into sculptures, they are thrown away and pushing together, they are marching, they form geometrical forms and roll on the ground as the situations require it.

The three main characters are: Dante, Lucifer and Beatrice, their monologues have similar sounding as the big solo arias of oratorios. The smaller named characters’ stories, who are standing out of the crowd, are similar to the smaller arioso of oratorios. Vergil’s text, as a huge recitativo, tells and explains the places and happenings, all through the performance. The atmosphere of the performance is strengthened by the live music, which has strange sounding, which are played by percussion instruments by Ákos Kerényi and Kornél Mogyoró. It is evident, that the temptation of illustration, comics or revue have to be avoided.

The stage of the Trafó is almost empty. At the beginning of the performance, the figures, who are dressed into black coats and, hoods, are sitting and standing by the walls, they are the nameless sufferers, the guilty souls, the damned ones, who are performed by volunteering civilians. In the middle of the stage, on a little bit elevated, round podium, Dante, the main character is sitting on a mental swivel chair, which refers to skulls and skeleton, and it is similar to the seat of an aeroplane. We can follow his travelling into the circles of the Inferno, into the depth of human soul, into the inside of his own soul. But we are not the only ones, who follow him on his big journey, but his dead lover, Beatrice, and Lucifer also does it, who does not wait for him in this performance, are the end of the journey, but he travels with him, inside him too. Dante is guided through the great journey by his model, by Vergil, he shows the way to the poet.

The damned souls, who are named by Dante, are the actors of the troupe. All of them performs many roles and characters. The men perform sometimes women, the women can perform men too. They have a hard task, without any concrete story, they have to change from moments to moments. They have only flashes of time to show some figures, some characters, some dramas. They have to perform sufferers, desiring people, furious ones, those who curse the others, who accept everything, those guilty ones, and sinless sinful ones, who appear from time to time in the faceless crowd, then disappear and fall back down. All of them have some memorable moments, between the figures some, who can put a remaining picture into our memories. Zoltán Lendváczky can get some joyful moments into the dark world with the showing of the head, which can exist independently from its body too. Judit Kovács Ligeti’s most memorable moment is, the modest, lyrical showing of Thais, the big hetaerae. Zsolt Páll is memorable as Ulysses, Minos and Minotaurus. Erika Tankó in Francesca da Rimini’s story shows the power of love, which can beat everything. In an important moment, in a strong picture on the stage, she can raise many fine artistic associations in the viewers. Ádám Tompa, as Christ, who is got from the cross, is laying as Judas in the lap of Lucifer, who is sitting on the throne.

The director, Zoltán Balázs, first invited Ilona Béres for the role of Vergil, who could not accept it for different reasons. (But she was on the premiere as a viewer.) Then Andrea Ladányi, dancer, got the role of Vergil, who is, through the whole performance, standing almost motionless behind Dante, and tells her frightening amount of difficult texts. Vergil, as Dante’s soul guide during his big journey, he is the origin, the starting point of everything. He is the Delegate, who fulfils his task, he leads and protects the poet. He does not hesitate or ask. All the words and sentences he tells: are statements. All of his sentences and words are heavy. He does not have a gender, he is not a man of a woman. He does not have, he cannot have feelings. He is the weight himself. He is the interpretation. He is a monolith, carved from one block.

Lucifer, as he is performed by Ákos Orosz, is not the usual evil one, he is not evil- or demon-like. He does not have a gender too. He is a creature in female dress. He is a cynical with silent words. Thomas Mann’s sentences leave his mouth as heavy truths. Then in a very stressed moment, he sits on the chair, on the throne of the world.

Beatrice, Dante’s dead lover is Kamilla Fátyol. She also follows the poet, all through his travelling. At the beginning of the performance, she starts with a huge monologue. She tells Paolo Santarcangeli’s ideas, about the fact, that how many ways a man can kill. On what different ways he can ruin someone else and then, how he can become the killer himself from the victim, of course. These are heavy, painful, almost unbearable sentences about pity and the human meanness.

Dante, the great traveller is Zénó Faragó. He starts the performance with intermittent words, which come from the deepness, “at the half of human life” then he goes on after a long break. He travels, but he does not even move from sitting position. Once, for a short moment, he stands up from the chair, to give it to Lucifer.

At the end of the performance, when the big journey reaches its end, the stage slowly turns into darkness, all characters disappear, the last beam of light is on the poet, who turns around on his chair, then the lights goes out finally.

“Now I tell you, that the inferno is inhabited by souls, similar to you. It is not so easy to get there, they would be suffering from the lack of space for a while, if they let in all ordinary ones...”

György Gold, Szabadidő Magazin, 2011

(translated by: Veronika Fülöp)