Staging the Day Before Yesterday. Possibilities and Obstacles of Hungarian Theatre and Drama in Coming to Terms with the Past Cover Image

SZÍNPADON A TEGNAPELŐTT. A SZÍNHÁZI MÚLTFELDOLGOZÁS LEHETŐSÉGEI ÉS AKADÁLYAI MAGYARORSZÁGON
Staging the Day Before Yesterday. Possibilities and Obstacles of Hungarian Theatre and Drama in Coming to Terms with the Past

Author(s): Attila Szabó
Subject(s): Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts
Published by: UArtPress - Editura Universității de Arte din Tîrgu Mureş - A Marosvásárhelyi Művészeti Egyetem Kiadója
Keywords: Coming to Terms with the Past; political theatre; sotial functioning of art; contemporary theatre; memories

Summary/Abstract: Abstract: Staging the Day Before Yesterday. Possibilities and Obstacles of Hungarian Theatre and Drama in Coming to Terms with the Past The transition period towards a democratic establishment which has started in 1989 brought up serious societal tasks not only in the field of state organisation and economy but also in the field of memory – tasks which even after two decades cannot be considered completed. Even more, as the dreams and promises of the approaching welfare are shattered over and over, the dark and hidden shadows of the past bring to the surface new controversies and frustrations. In this paper I would like to give a short summary of the ways and the extent the social and individual challenges of this work on the memories find their place among the artistic functions of contemporary Hungarian drama and theatre: in the selection of topics, the mise-en-scene and the broadest sense of social reception. If we define Coming to Terms With the Past as a continuous and unending work on the memories, the aim of which is to ‘recognize the past and develop a depending independence from it’ (Zsolt Bagi) it is easy to see that theatre art, due to its capacities of a complex modelling of the world, its power of rePRESENTation and community reception could fulfil an outstanding role in this process.

  • Issue Year: XII/2011
  • Issue No: 20
  • Page Range: 15-21
  • Page Count: 7
  • Language: Hungarian