Last weekend I traveled to Budapest for a quick visit, taking advantage of the cheap flights, and short distances in Europe, and the fact that my small family, who lives scattered on three continents, just happened to be there at the same time. Since I only went for the weekend to see them, I did not plan anything else, and walks in the city coupled with restaurants would have filled out our time perfectly, giving a pleasant backdrop to the conversations I would have with my folks, whcih was really the main point of the trip. But since my parents love the performing arts, for which they came half-way around the world, they also made reservations for us all to see a play together on Saturday evening. It was based on the book The Castle by Franz Kafka.
A Striking Cultural Venue in Budapest
There are numerous theaters in Budapest, many with a long and colorful history, so it is nothing out of the ordinary to walk into an impressive turn-of-the-century palace for it. The Vígszínház could be the most interesting example for this, with its lavish art nouveau style, which sticks out even in the center of Budapest, known for its many spectacular turn-of-the-century buildings.
The theater's name is most commonly translated as Comedy Theater, though they don't exclusively specialize on comedy, as this this example shows. It has been known for being the antidote to the more conservative National Theater, when it was founded at the end of the 19th century. Since then it has gone through hard times and harder times, still today it is one of the most important institutions for performing arts in the country. Just passing by it's main building is worth it, or even peeking into the lobby. Enjoying a play, however, is guaranteed to be a memorable experience, regardless whether the play itself is to your liking or not.
An Extraordinary Performance
I'm putting it this way, because the four of us had different oppinions on what we saw. I personally enjoyed it a lot, though I have to admit that the near two-hour show was quite long, and the essence of it could have been summed up in maybe half that time.
Before anything else I want to mention the scene design: A rotating stage with a multi-level scaffolding built on it, featuring ladders and stairs leading up to various platforms. During the play the actors would climb around in and on it, interacting in a three dimensional way with each other, sometimes while the whole structure would turn, offering the viewers twisted new angles of essentially the same scenery. I also want to add that apart from the art of acting, the performers showed highly refined physical skills, ranging from dance to acrobatics, all interwoven into the display of this weird and absurd story.
One of the most striking aspects for me was the transparent screen lowered in front of the stage for the final dialogue. Through the screen we could see the two main characters standing on the highest platform, while their faces were projected onto the screen, to magnify their expressions even for the viewers in the last row.
A Disturbing Work of Art
For those who are not familiar with The Castle, it is a great example of Kafka's vision on how the powers that be are hidden behind a labyrinth of incomprehensibly complex bureaucratic structure. The protagonist, capable and dedicated as he may be, is unable to navigate through the absurdity of the organization, and even in the end the explanation presented offers no revelation, only a sneaking feeling of something we have been suspecting from the beginning. So don't expect any laughs out of it. It's not supposed to be pretty!
At the same time, it seems like that in this dramatic interpretation they did try to put a comic twist on it. Not that it actually worked! On the contrary, it only added to the deep discomfort of the entire experience. Which I personally think worked perfectly! This included bits of techno music generated from playing around on a fuse box, or having the main character lifted up by ropes in an position as if he was being blown away by a strong wind.
In the end, I certainly believe it was a great idea to go, and I can recommend this play further (if you are in Budapest and understand a bit of Hungarian). Thus, after sharing our impressions, the four of us have summed up the various feelings it had on us in this way: A play is good if it makes you want to talk about it, no matter if you came away with a good or a bad feeling.
Note: I didn't think it would be proper to take photos during the play, so all the pics of the stage show are from the theater's website.