Haynal: Even a god can avoid his fate
Sándor Weöres’ play, which is similar to ancient Greek dramas, the Theomachia is not a typical theatre-friend play. Gods are against each other using lines with quantitative metre, while the choir helps in the battle.
Not only its style, is archaic but its topic too. After that Kronos beats his father, Uranos, he cursed him: according to it, Kronos will be beaten by one of his son, as he did it with his father, Uranos. After it, Kronos tries to cheat his fate, and he eats his children, born by his wife-sister. But Rhea could save the last child, and gives the baby Zeus to the double legged, “stone thrower” Curates, who after growing up will kill his father finally. Zoltán Balázs with the actors of Bárka Theatre and with Ilona Béres as a guest star creates a really exciting theatre from the drama. Interesting that Ilona Béres now plays a role of a man, she is Kronos, standing on the same point during the two and half hour long performance. The style of acting and playing technique is similar to the Far-eastern theatre. As they are using the sets, tools, costumes and face painting of a traditional Japanese theatre for the story. Moreover, as in the case of a no- or kabuki performance, the audience has not known the archaic language yet, here Zoltán Balázs takes apart the elements of the text. Some of the actors tell backwards Weöres’ texts, and sometimes the words as sounds are falling out of their mouth. However, it does not prevent the understanding of the play but helps it.
During this punctually, over thought performance they use the whole area. They equipped the fencing hall of the Bárka Theatre to be able to show it as a very big room, weirdly. In this high and wide area the characters of the stage are speaking sometimes from head level, then from above or under side. They have no limits, and it gives magical mood to the performance. It must be one of the most important performance of the season, where outstanding theatrical moments were born.
Haynal, Budapesti Nap, 2003
(translated by: Veronika Fülöp)
Not only its style, is archaic but its topic too. After that Kronos beats his father, Uranos, he cursed him: according to it, Kronos will be beaten by one of his son, as he did it with his father, Uranos. After it, Kronos tries to cheat his fate, and he eats his children, born by his wife-sister. But Rhea could save the last child, and gives the baby Zeus to the double legged, “stone thrower” Curates, who after growing up will kill his father finally. Zoltán Balázs with the actors of Bárka Theatre and with Ilona Béres as a guest star creates a really exciting theatre from the drama. Interesting that Ilona Béres now plays a role of a man, she is Kronos, standing on the same point during the two and half hour long performance. The style of acting and playing technique is similar to the Far-eastern theatre. As they are using the sets, tools, costumes and face painting of a traditional Japanese theatre for the story. Moreover, as in the case of a no- or kabuki performance, the audience has not known the archaic language yet, here Zoltán Balázs takes apart the elements of the text. Some of the actors tell backwards Weöres’ texts, and sometimes the words as sounds are falling out of their mouth. However, it does not prevent the understanding of the play but helps it.
During this punctually, over thought performance they use the whole area. They equipped the fencing hall of the Bárka Theatre to be able to show it as a very big room, weirdly. In this high and wide area the characters of the stage are speaking sometimes from head level, then from above or under side. They have no limits, and it gives magical mood to the performance. It must be one of the most important performance of the season, where outstanding theatrical moments were born.
Haynal, Budapesti Nap, 2003
(translated by: Veronika Fülöp)