The “black” fierce instincts, wild desires, brutal sexuality, dark religious thoughts, frightening superstitions. The “black” isolation, loss and humiliation. The “black” – overwhelming power, the “black” is also the fear of the suppressed ones and the servants’ sneaky bended heads too. On Jean Genet’s „black mass” the „blacks” during a bizarre ceremony kill the emblematic heroes of the “pale” civilization – the Queen, the Governor, the Judge, the Missionary, and the Valet. They demolish the earlier colonizers’ empty imperium with an analogical magic, so they remove the leftover debris of the white people’s culture. Before they would kill symbolically the “saints” of colonization, the black actors perform a strange rite in front of the “Court”. They replay the killing of the white woman. The victim is laying in the middle of the stage in a closed coffin. Meanwhile the “Court” is “black” too – the “black” actors hidden behind their pale masks play their warders with mischievous irony. “In Genet’s plays all characters have to play the roles of those characters, who are playing roles too” - Jean-Paul Sartre wrote it. On a third level, in the background the “real” happening is going on. The coffin is empty, the execution of the “Court” is a stylised act – claps – the real aim of the troupe’s play is to take the audience’s attention of the “black” rebellion’s court case. Behind the scenes they sentence to death and execute the traitor leader. Meanwhile the descendant has arrived, who carries on the actions and brings to win the uncompromising troop. This would be the realistic scene but it is not more than another surface of a mirror, the mirror of the anaemic theatre of illusions. „The theatre can become into the comedy of its own one, into the reflection of the reflection of its own, the performance of which can become a very special ceremony” – Jean Genet wrote it. The writer wrote his play to a black troupe, because he did not see any sense of it, he forbids its performance by white actors. In 1959 in the year of the premier the Algerian war was going on, some years later, in 1962 many former French colonies in Africa became independent. Can The Blacks be valid without any “blacks”? Can Genet’s cruel artistry be exciting, if the involvement and environment of the social history do not fire up the Mannerist riot?

Zoltán Balázs’ theatrical vision is as deeply philosophical, stunningly created, beautifully artificial, and cruelly true as Genet’s pathological ceremonial theatre. The director with the complicated actions of adequacies, differences, fine movements, radical turnings created a coherent, authentic Genet performance. In the Bárka Theatre Gypsy – or painted Gypsy – actors form the “Court”. The darkness of their mask-like painted skin is highlighted by the blinding wig, the shining snow-white lipstick on their mouth and the wonderful milk-white silk costume: they want to be similar to “white people”. Non-Gypsy actors play the “blacks” in similarly luxurious and frilly, but night-black costumes, in similarly ornamented, decorated, but dark wigs. (Judit Gombár designed the set and costumes.) „Black” („Gypsy”) and „white” actors play „black” and „white” people, everybody plays the others. They are barely different they are just the opposites. “To be Gypsy” sign is a metaphor, the “white skin” sign is a metaphor. In Genet’s theatre the individualities are complicatedly created system of signs. The cast makes clear one of the most important sentences of Genet’s world: The personality is nothing else just a mask, which the thoughts of world, prejudices put on people’s faces. The personality is a definition. It makes somebody “white” or “black, killer or judge, courtesan or missionary, African magician or power-sick governor.

One great invention of the performance indicates the connection of the opposite-like role-pairs. The antagonists have the same voices. Against the symbolic heroes of the “Court” there is the black pantheon. The Village, the killer who does the sacrifice is played by Balázs Dévai, his voice is László Böröcz’ tenor, and he is the white “Judge”, Rodrigó Balog’s voice too. Nóra Parti plays the Virtue, the “black killer”, courtesan muse of the Village, and we can hear her on Apollónia Szolnoki’s alto voice, as well as János Balog, who is the Missionary. Bobo, the bitter old lady, the monk sister of the hate, is Judit Réka Kiss, her voice is Zoltán Gavodi’s contra tenor, who also sings the role of the thin, decent Queen too. The womanish Snowflake, Éva Bakos sounds on Beatrix Fodor’s soprano, as well as the strongly feminine, maybe homosexual Valet does too. Finally, Erzsébet Soltész, the witch lady of the “tribe”, Felicitas, the ancestress uses Szabolcs Hámori’s bass voice, which belongs to the “black eater” Governor too. The correspondence of some sounds makes the abstract thoughts into strong sensual experience: these life-roles are essentially the same. Felicitas, the quack woman’s influence and endless hate have the same root with the Governor’s military power and disgust. The different phenomenon merge into each other, the male and female principium turn into each other, the boundaries of personality get into the fog – Genet’s theatrical alchemy has got an equivalent theatrical form.

The actors mouth László Sáry’s a capella opera, the sounds of it is sung by singers, who are hidden in monk dresses. It is a genius idea – the melismatic recitatives, the Gregorian like singing speech can bring obviously that elevated style, which the play-writer thought to find in the century old playing style of the Comédie Française. Genet thought to state his discursively wild, roughly outspoken and ordinary, but elevated poetic lines with the help of this timeless, outdated, declaiming style. Instead of the Comédie-style, it is an opera. In László Sáry’s work the understanding of the text is the most important one, that is why he composed simple, perfectly prosodic, very expressive tunes. All words can be understood. The bluster of the lava of words, which comes up from the deep lines of subconscious, the weariness of the most created form can slow down. The cruel anger that breaks taboos can be seen only when it gets against the cold form. This explosive balance is very typical for the performance of Maladype. The devastating chaos of the world of instincts shows itself in a grandiose cold form.

The actors and singers’ self-control is impressive, as they adjust their very punctually fixed gestures to the singing voices and back. The singers do not act – they live their roles. What a wonderful paradox! Their presence is much more direct, “natural”, than case of the actors. It is very exciting, as all actions, emotions, states appear through the actors’ very stylised acts and the singers’ modest, mostly involuntary gestures. They have set a new mirror into Genet’s endless system of mirror.

Mostly in one place, with fixed legs “the whites” and “the blacks” are standing opposite to each other. There are fans in their hands, their movements are the perfectly formed conventional signs of a never existed traditional theatre. The white fan, which the Governor spins as a revolver, and the Virtue, courtesan’s black fan, which is turning with greatness, are drawing the perfect garlands of an ancient theatrical culture into the air. The action is not the demonstration of the small flutters or the small unique tricks of individuality as it is usually in European theatres. They represent the role concentrates of Genet’s fantasy world, of a poetic mythology that widens into a universe. In this extreme holding out we can realise the real nature of phenomenon. We can hardly watch a more sensual theatre, where bodies mean themselves. Bobo elderly body climbs on the young man, the Missionary’s graceful-sad femininity, the Virtue’s womanish charm, the Village’s flexible male-beauty can stand in for themselves without any fear – they can become their own symbols. The sensuality of the old and the young, the robust and the graceful, the ugly and the beautiful can be reached only that way, leaving the individual accidentally things behind. It is an imposing contradiction – it is a sensual stylization, it is a lush elevation!

The Village has to experience it again, he has to play the killing again, to let the sacrificial rite bring the community together, to let the new religion give power to the “blacks”. The turn of victorious wickedness and invulnerable indifference to be able to get rid of the empty myth that proclaims the cruelty of their captors. The image of goodness can weaken the rebellions; the pity can unsettle the priests of destruction. The Virtue courtesan is on the bier, over the imagined dead body – later the coffin turns out to be empty – she has sex with the Village, to give power to the man. The act is similar to an exorcism – the Virtue can chase out the demon of goodness of the coward Village. I have hardly ever seen a more widely erotic scene than this strictly choreographed dark wedding, however the sounds of the two actors are sitting there in hoodies next to them on the bier.

The sacrifice of Diuf / the Town of Saint-Nazaire, the white woman is a pansexual ceremony. Two actors play the combined role. The characters of Diuf, who proclaims the rule of love, so she is against the killing and of the Town of Saint-Nazaire, who is the radical rebellion, and he is the one who talks about the killing of the traitor, are combined into one. Saint-Nazaire Artúr Kálid is shaved bald, in his long grey coat he is similar to a noble dervish, Hermina Fátyol in her grey dress, with her tiny bones is similar to a fragile nun. The principle of a man and a woman are melt together, turn into each other. Anyway, Hermina Fátyol does not indicate the killed white woman. Diuf’s turn into a woman is a perfect metamorphosis. The muscular, actor in loincloth is a royal vision, the “black ladies” put red clothes on him, like a skirt, and they humble him to a woman. Meanwhile they are singing the most expressive song of the opera: the coral, that curses the “pale skin tone”. There are red clothes on his face and red shoes on his foot. During the flamenco the shoes are knocking on ear-slitting way. The pace is getting faster, the dance is more and more reckless. (Choreography by: András Szőllősi). In front of us Diuf turns into a woman and a victim, to make the Village possible to humiliate and stab her while she is similar to a dancing toreador in her ecstasy. The Spanish dance, the bullfighting and the “black” incantation (Felicitas, the quack lady’s texts are translated into Gypsy) bring into the performance the very erotic, loosening and blossoming, foamingly baroque and frighteningly atavistic atmosphere of the colonial South-America. The visual solutions of the performance is similar to the laud and orgiastic religious ceremonies on the Spanish colonies, where the local superstitious can recognise themselves in the Catholic rites. The theatrical orgy follows the orgy of thoughts and believes.

The ecstatic pulsation of the primitive rites – they have always impressed Genet – and the “cannibalistic” catholic liturgy are connected. (The opera is followed by Kornél Mogyoró, who plays percussion instruments.) The monks do not sing by accident, who get into the high formation of the rite. They sometimes sit among us, sometimes stand on the upper floor of the arena in a circle, and sometimes follow their master like shadows. They imitate the frightening atmosphere of the monastery of this bizarre order by their racing steps and modesty. Diuf lets his drops of sweat from his forehead into the mouth of the communicants – here is his blood. The black wafer of the new religion – the brown chocolate is the snow-white wafer of the “whites” – it is white chocolate. They take communion that way that they get it. They present the extraordinary blasphemous humour with gloomy dignity. The theatre is about the changing of characters, it is the area of transformation as the quoted ceremonies too. The final ceremony is the performance itself. The master of the ceremony is the director. Zoltán Balázs is sitting in his civil clothes on the auditorium, and says his commands into a microphone. He keeps order: he brings up, suppresses and guides mad energies. He calls consequently with pride the performance as a “ceremony”. His determination is reflected in all moments, this whole captivating construction. His concentration is multiplied by the actors.

The continuation of the performance becomes unnecessary, as the traitor has already been killed. There is real blood – “black blood”. Meanwhile the mass has to be finished. The over-fined – “paleness” – the Queen and the “black” magician woman get against each other, the two cultures fight. They get naked. On the bier the Queen who states the superiority of European culture and the old lady who tells Gypsy magic words, change their colours. They turn out their dresses, they change their colour that way – the black turns into white, and the white turns into black. The colour of black could not win: with its victory it turns into white. According to Genet’s pessimistic vision of world, the victory is a stormy transformation into the hated oppressor. The battle of cultures is a circulation; it is the beginning of a new cycle. Now it is the turn of the “white”: exile, loss and humiliation.

Balázs Perényi, Színház, 2004

(translated by: Veronika Fülöp)