I do not know what is Egmont like without Don Carlos – sometimes the Maladype Theatre performs the two performances one after another, then one by one. I have experienced the previous one. After Don Carlos, Egmont starts with a special mood: while in our heads there are political fights of the previous performance, which are filled with storms of feelings. These are still working and the need in our heads to do something with it, then it all starts in the hole in the middle of the sofa – where there has been an orange tree so far – the live radio, which play Hungarian and international hits too, it talks about fights on streets, and reports on political speeches. All these will make the atmosphere in the flat at 2 Mikszáth Square, heart-warmingly revolutionary somehow. Thanks for the music, and the actors’ easier performance, which is built on effects, then even a possibility appears in our head, that Egmont is performed in front of us, in reality.

Let’s go through fast the technical problems: with nice words, we can tell that the acoustic of the Maladype Base is horrible, which the actors can speak through easily anyway, when a performance-like sized concert is nearby, then in spite of the routine, they are unable to be heard – as it has happened many times. But we have lost just some important sentences, or words, as during the performance the radio and the scenes can be heard parallel all through. We can hear a Republic hit and that dialogue, when the characters are talking about upcoming arrival of The Duke of Alva ans his troops at the same time. As the situation is not rosy here: while Clara is totally in love with Egmont, her mother wants to make her get married to Brackenburg, as the fate of her loved one is more than doubtful, as the Flanders, who are rebelling against the Spanish inquisition, are singing his name day and night. Maybe I do not have to tell that between Alva and Egmont the later one becomes the loser, he gets into jail, then ends on gallows – in spite of the fact that there cannot be any complaint in connection with his ability to make a compromise.

Egmont fights not against Philip but for a country, which is led between witty, humanist frames, where people are not deprived of their own freedom, where they do not try to lead them fanaticised by national, religious and other clichés. Egmont can be rebellious any way, he does not rebel at all, he has just his own principles, and he is searching for the possibilities of a better life – it is not accidental that he tries to make an agreement with Alva. He tries to ease the wall, to make the system not work as concrete, but should be built on people. All of Alva’s answers are concrete for it – their dialogue plays perfectly and reinterprets again and again Philip’s rural principles: the law is about power, not about people. It must be told to the society, how to be able to live. And it is not a possibility, but a compulsion. It is concrete.

The context is created mostly by the radio duet of Gabriella Varga and Gábor Jászberényi. They preform fake cheerfully, in a really so called sensationalist way with the text, which fills the performing time and has been written perfectly (there is actual politics, private opinion, comments through messages and everything, which can be listened to in a radio). The really special atmosphere is created by the live music: Jászberényi from one point of view can choose professionally and accurately between the accords of hits – it is a mixture of stylish and unstylish music. Meanwhile, Varga, who performs in the most natural way of the world Margit Pármai’s autotelic outbursts, can appear and sing as a real rock star. Her voice not only fills the place – which taking into consideration the stage of a size of a room, is not a very big challenge – but it sounds and fills everything, like we are on a concert – her sexy laziness is very impressive. Above it all, she shows us all the parties of Budapest, which are heavy of passions, and has a frustrated atmosphere.

In this world the games of power can go on. Zoltán Lendváczky’ William of Orange tries to learn the whole profession of the royal superiority with passionate innocence, but we can find also the doubt in the son of the prince of Alva, which the actor can add with fine over thinking during the dialogue of William and Egmont. László Keszég hold on to the character of the Duke of Alva with easy strictness, with cold precise attitude, he sees the aim all through the performance in front of him, he keeps working the right hand of the power, which become very dangerous because of his limited intelligence. The actor can mark it: Alva knows what he does. Gyöngyi Blasek is a meddler, she is a worrying mother, who cannot measure the circumstances, Erika Tankó, who performs her daughter, can performs Clara with endless desires, whose passion is not an item to buy: it comes from like and love in reality. Ákos Orosz gets again the role of critic of power, similarly to Marquis of Posa, Egmont is also ready to make compromise in favour of the greater aim – finally he is also killed. This time Orosz holds a much extreme basic situation, as Egmont’s self-awareness is mixed with some disillusionment and nihilism too – the unmeasurable breathed up cocaine must refer to something like this.

Many gestures, which are similar to the cocaine tries to ease and bring Egmont between us – the dresses, which has civilian effect, the squash stew with sunny side up eggs, with references to the place, the mood of the easy party at home and so on. Anyway the performance can get its true drive with Don Carlos, it makes it controversial too – it is unable to get rid of that idea that the performance is second part of the previous one (the actors perform characters, who are similar of the ones of the other performance, it reforms – from a little bit different point of view – ideas). From the point of view of the form, the now and here are the most important in connection with it, as the rebellious idea boils and the question works in it: is it change or concrete. Don Carlos is not the past, it happens in front of us in an emphasised way, it is connected to the questions of the everyday lives in an emphasised way.

We can only hope that performance, which starts from the everyday life, with the fall of Egmont is not about the possible picture of the future – because of the sudden closure, which shows strict state and does not make us think it over, let us leave the question easily behind. But the troupe gets something very well, as we do not have to force us to get up against the concrete. Can it be broken anyway?

Attila Nyulassy, 7óra7, 2012

(translated by: Veronika Fülöp)