Paths of life, personal inventories. Two years after its successful American premiere, Apropos 2.0 – a show consisting of two pieces - is to be performed at Trafó. The first piece concerns the encounter between Réka Szabó and midlife; the second piece portrays the real and fictitious memories of four people intertwined with the movements of dancers and visuals, responding to them instantaneously using the latest video technology.
I will be all of these things one day
Following Réka Szabó’s two solo pieces, The lilac ant-eater (1999) and Clearing the Attic (2006), which were performed at numerous international festivals, she now presents her long-awaited third solo, a personal inventory. In the piece the protagonist appears simultaneously as a little girl, a middle-aged woman, and an old woman. The performance focuses on the question of whether you can escape from the tower you have locked yourself up in by the time you turn 44 years of age.
‘It’s not too late. I’m in no hurry. I have nothing important to do. I’ve got time to look around. I’m light and breezy. Soft and strong. When I inhale I will be long and narrow. I’m not screaming. I’m not pissed off. I sleep well. I have no pain. I won’t take my laptop home. I’m in the mood for making love. I walk everywhere. I can do all this.’
“Szabó never ceases to amaze with her penchant for metamorphosis.” (Krisztina Horeczky, Népszabadság)
“I have rarely seen on this stage, or any other stage, such a range of possibilities in performance… beautifully executed. Nothing was halfway. Everything was 120 percent…”(Jedediah Wheeler, Executive Director of the Alexander Kasser Theater, Montclair University, New Jersey)
I don’t remember being raised like this
--based on the workshop with Petra Ardai
Human statistics, subjective inventory. Life fragments from the age of 7 to 77.
In the BBC’s “7 Up” documentary series, a group of children are followed through their lives. Currently they are 56 years old. This fragmented life-documentary, which re-visits the group every seven years, shows us how unique and yet how similar human life stories are.
This was the starting point for the Symptoms workshop which took place in the autumn of 2012, under the leadership of Petra Ardai, Artistic Director of SPACE Theatre, Netherlands. Participants compiled real and fictitious memories up to the imagined age of 77. A poetic, touching, humorous, and both personal and universal performance.
“It is sincere, unadulterated and without frills or pretence, like an unspoilt child’s face which you can look at and learn things about yourself. The narratives and sheer stage presence comes across with lithe and artless simplicity, as if the venue were not a theatre but a friendly gathering after midnight, where everyone in the company experiences a rush of confessional urges. (...) No posturing, no dissonance, not a single false note. It feels good to see and hear The Symptoms dare to be — and know how to be — themselves.” (Csaba Králl, Life and Literature)
“…this evening once again proved The Symptoms to be one of the most loveable dance companies in Hungary today.” (Krisztina Horeczky, Népszabadság)
The first version of this work was performed at Trafó in December 2012.
Creator-performers: Réka Szabó, Emese Cuhorka, István Gőz, Dániel Szász
Lighting and space: Attila Szirtes
Costumes: Edit Szűcs
Make-up: Balázs Károlyi
Masks: Janka Haraszti
Interactive technology: Gábor Karcis, Zsolt Korai, Gábor Papp
Special thanks: Bence Földesi, Dóra Furulyás
Funders in Hungary: Ministry of Human Resources, National Cultural Fund, Trafó House of Contemporary Arts, MU Theatre, Jurányi Community Incubator House, SÍN Culture Centre
I will be all of these things one day
Following Réka Szabó’s two solo pieces, The lilac ant-eater (1999) and Clearing the Attic (2006), which were performed at numerous international festivals, she now presents her long-awaited third solo, a personal inventory. In the piece the protagonist appears simultaneously as a little girl, a middle-aged woman, and an old woman. The performance focuses on the question of whether you can escape from the tower you have locked yourself up in by the time you turn 44 years of age.
‘It’s not too late. I’m in no hurry. I have nothing important to do. I’ve got time to look around. I’m light and breezy. Soft and strong. When I inhale I will be long and narrow. I’m not screaming. I’m not pissed off. I sleep well. I have no pain. I won’t take my laptop home. I’m in the mood for making love. I walk everywhere. I can do all this.’
“Szabó never ceases to amaze with her penchant for metamorphosis.” (Krisztina Horeczky, Népszabadság)
“I have rarely seen on this stage, or any other stage, such a range of possibilities in performance… beautifully executed. Nothing was halfway. Everything was 120 percent…”(Jedediah Wheeler, Executive Director of the Alexander Kasser Theater, Montclair University, New Jersey)
I don’t remember being raised like this
--based on the workshop with Petra Ardai
Human statistics, subjective inventory. Life fragments from the age of 7 to 77.
In the BBC’s “7 Up” documentary series, a group of children are followed through their lives. Currently they are 56 years old. This fragmented life-documentary, which re-visits the group every seven years, shows us how unique and yet how similar human life stories are.
This was the starting point for the Symptoms workshop which took place in the autumn of 2012, under the leadership of Petra Ardai, Artistic Director of SPACE Theatre, Netherlands. Participants compiled real and fictitious memories up to the imagined age of 77. A poetic, touching, humorous, and both personal and universal performance.
“It is sincere, unadulterated and without frills or pretence, like an unspoilt child’s face which you can look at and learn things about yourself. The narratives and sheer stage presence comes across with lithe and artless simplicity, as if the venue were not a theatre but a friendly gathering after midnight, where everyone in the company experiences a rush of confessional urges. (...) No posturing, no dissonance, not a single false note. It feels good to see and hear The Symptoms dare to be — and know how to be — themselves.” (Csaba Králl, Life and Literature)
“…this evening once again proved The Symptoms to be one of the most loveable dance companies in Hungary today.” (Krisztina Horeczky, Népszabadság)
The first version of this work was performed at Trafó in December 2012.
Creator-performers: Réka Szabó, Emese Cuhorka, István Gőz, Dániel Szász
Lighting and space: Attila Szirtes
Costumes: Edit Szűcs
Make-up: Balázs Károlyi
Masks: Janka Haraszti
Interactive technology: Gábor Karcis, Zsolt Korai, Gábor Papp
Special thanks: Bence Földesi, Dóra Furulyás
Funders in Hungary: Ministry of Human Resources, National Cultural Fund, Trafó House of Contemporary Arts, MU Theatre, Jurányi Community Incubator House, SÍN Culture Centre
Emberi Erőforrások Minisztériuma, Nemzeti Kulturális Alap, Trafó Kortárs Művészetek Háza, MU Színház, Jurányi Produkciós Közösségi Inkubátorház, SÍN Kulturális Központ
