Petra Al-Farman - Máté Kőrösi - Ernő Zoltán Rubik - Péter Valcz

Mourning Patriarchy - PREMIERE

     

4.900 HUF (full price)
All discounts and Trafó pass valid.

The date of the premiere has changed due to the availability of the final cast.
Tickets purchased for 22 October can be changed to any other performance dates or will be reimbursed. Please contact: jegypenztar@trafo.hu

#gender #Bambi #lamentation


We invite the sons and daughters, colleagues and disciples of the twelve-thousand-year-old, dying Patriarchy to attend its funeral rite. As we attempt to "labour" men into equality with women, this ceremonial, cross-disciplinary farewell unfolds through the unsettling nostalgia of remembrance, the painful liberation of burial, and a host of unexpected emotions that awaken the patriarch within us—and dance a csárdás with him.

Critiquing patriarchy from a male perspective is largely taboo. It is an idea confined to men's circles—yet the very phenomenon of men's circles is still rare in Hungary. (For now. Yet something is beginning to stir.) At the same time, the crisis of contemporary masculinity is widely acknowledged, while responses to it are remarkably diverse: from the revisionist wife-beater and the modern incel to the guilt-ridden man, the activist, or the depressed father desperately trying to live up to every expectation. These divisions do not follow the familiar societal fault lines. A close friend may suddenly reveal a radically different opinion—or our parents, our children, or even we ourselves.

Mourning Patriarchy is a constantly evolving artistic process. The collectively initiated Men's Circle, the Vigil for the Patriarchy at the 2025 Ördögkatlan Festival, the Community Human Experiment presented on Hungarian Men's Day at Trafó, and the preview at the 2026 Ördögkatlan Festival all form integral parts of the project. The performance is an experiment in democratic artistic creation: four co-creators come together as a temporary collective, bypassing the traditional hierarchy of theatremaking, to explore performative situations and modes of spectatorship in which contemplation, embodied experience, and shared presence become as significant as understanding and recognition.

Petra Al-Farman is a dramaturg and screenwriter. She graduated in Hungarian Studies from Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), and later earned degrees in theatre directing and dramaturgy from Freeszfe and the University of Theatre and Performing Arts Baden-Württemberg (ADK Ludwigsburg). Since 2018, she has been a member of the Soharóza choir. Her research focuses on choral theatre, as well as documentary and site-specific theatrical forms. As a dramaturg, she has worked on community-based theatre and musical performances, where collective creation and voice-based dramaturgy play a central role.

Máté Kőrösi is a documentary filmmaker. He graduated from the University of Theatre and Film Arts (SZFE), and his first feature-length film, Dívák, was produced by HBO and received awards at international film festivals. Alongside his own projects, he works as a freelance filmmaker and creative collaborator in independent theatre and music scenes. He is particularly interested in social awareness and the representation of reality through personal perspectives. He has collaborated with several civil organizations, including the Autonómia Foundation, Direkt36, and the Piros Orr Bohócdoktorok (Red Noses Clowndoctors).

Ernő Zoltán Rubik is a composer, pianist, and music educator. His work explores the relationship between improvisation, spatial sound, and sonic atmospheres. He is a regular collaborator in theatre and movement-based productions, blending classical and contemporary elements into meditative yet tension-filled musical structures.

Péter Valcz is an actor, director, and carpenter. After studying acting in Kaposvár, he trained at the international Jacques Lecoq school in Paris. He has worked with numerous companies in Hungary and abroad (including Paris, Ingolstadt, Cluj-Napoca, Debrecen, Szolnok, and Pune, India). His work is characterized by a human-centered approach, movement-based character building, humor, and social sensitivity. In 2025, he earned his MA degree with distinction in Theatre Studies at ELTE.

Performed by: Artúr Bárdosi, Máté Kőrösi, András Mészáros, Ernő Zoltán Rubik, Béla Szemán, Sándor Téri, Péter Valcz
Concept: Petra Al-Farman, Máté Kőrösi, Ernő Zoltán Rubik, Péter Valcz
Set design: Lőrinc Rácz
Production manager: Brigitta Varga (Magnum Production) 
Assistant: Marcell Bálint
Intimacy coordinator: Bence Marcibál
Coproduced by: Trafó House of Contemporary Arts, Magnum Production, Ördögkatlan Festival
Supported by: STAFÉTA Programme for Emerging Artists funded by the Municipality of Budapest, FÜGE, The Symptoms, Férfi Fonó (Men’s Circle)

Special thanks to: Tamás Dávid-Barrett, Emcsi, Dora Mester Djamila, Ádám Ulbert, Péter Szil

The production was realized as part of the Staféta program announced by the Municipality of Budapest.

TRAFÓ KORTÁRS MŰVÉSZETEK HÁZA
ticket office:
  • Main hall performance days: 5 pm - 10 pm
  • studio and club performance days: 5 pm - 7:30 pm
  • other days: 4pm - 6 pm
Trafó Gallery opening hours:
  • Opening hours: Tuesday - Sunday: 4pm-7pm.
  • Performance days: 4pm-10pm.
  • Closed on Mondays.

  • The Trafó Kortárs Művészetek Háza Nonprofit Kft. works in the maintance of Budapest Főváros Önkormányzata.

Media partners

Cooperative partners