#Fukuyama #liberalDemocracy #happiness
“In memory of
all the unfulfilled expectations,
broken promises, and
shattered hopes of history.”
(Foreword to the drama Beyond Fukuyama)
In his 1989 essay The End of History, Francis Fukuyama argues that liberal democracy represents the final destination of political and social evolution. Have we truly arrived at the best of all possible worlds, or have power structures simply been rearranged around us?
“Beyond Fukuyama is a theatrical oratorio created using live film techniques, blending provocative visuals, montages, unique technical solutions, and an eclectic musical score to guide us into a dystopian world.
It’s questioning our belief in progress and the manipulability of human happiness in the context of populism, illiberal democracies, and the illusions of a crumbling society. The play, voiced through the chorus of the post-historical, uses grotesque humor to depict an unstable world where everything—power, community, and identity—has become uncertain.
A seemingly catastrophic data breach occurs at the Research Institute of Happiness and Future, while the “Political Rejects' Orchestra of Lapsing Expectations” attempts to recount the chaotic history of liberalism.
The performance compels us to confront the fragility of our world and reconsider our faith in progress, as well as our perspectives on identity and the future.
Thomas Köck’s work presents a satirical vision, distorted into a documentary performance by the realities of Hungarian society.”
(BpSkizo Group)
Thomas Köck is an author, theatre maker and musician. He studied philosophy and literary theory as well as scenic writing. In 2015 Köck was an in-house author at the National Theater Mannheim. With his debut drama, Beyond Fukuyama, he won the Osnabrück Dramatist Award in 2013.
He has received several awards for his theatre texts, including the prestigious Kleist Prize in 2016 and the Mülheim Playwriting Prize in 2018 and 2019. The critics of the magazine Theater heute named Köck, together with Enis Maci, Young Playwright of the Year 2018.
The Hungarian translation of Thomas Köck's drama (Jenseits von Fukuyama) by the renown literary translator Zoltán Halasi was comissioned by the BpSkizo Group and the March premier at Trafó will be the first time the play is staged in Hungarian.
BudapestiSkizo Group is a collective of young theatermakers and creative technologists. Their main medium is live film, in which they merge the worlds of theater, film, and visual arts through digital technologies.
Their studies were interrupted in 2020 by the pandemic and the restructuring of SZFE (University of Theatre and Film Arts Budapest), during which they created Budapesti Skizo, their first production using digital technologies, based on the eponymous novel by Attila Hazai.
After their next project, dzsanni, they founded the BudapestiSkizo Group, with their own creative space in a former factory building. In 2023, on the invitation of László Bagossy, they presented Gianni in Stuttgart, gaining international recognition for their work.
Author: Thomas Köck
Translator: Zoltán Halasi
Director: Dániel Máté Sándor
Cast: Gergely Váradi, Dominika Rezes, Emina Messaoudi, Bálint Bán, Veronika Kozma, István Szacsvai
Dramaturg: Adrian Samudovszky, Dániel Máté Sándor
Composers: Mihály Bánki, Zsigmond Sándor
Cinematographers: Soma Varga, Lázár Todoroff
Videó (Processing; C++; OpenCV; Max; Vivago; Hedra): András Fehér
Stage designer: Mira Simonyi-Lengyel
Sound technician: Milán Pellei
Lighting Artist: Mátyás Major
Production Manager: Balázs Márton
Production Manager: Balázs Márton
„A diktatúrák indiszkrét báját tucatnyi képtörésben ránk fröccsentő vizuális bacchanáliát egy lendületes revü váltja: egy táncos-énekes fogalomfelhő azokkal a kifejezésekkel, amelyekkel a politikai közbeszéd szőnyegbombáz minket jóideje. “ (Török Ákos - KútszéliStílus.hu)
This performance was made possible with the permission of © Suhrkamp Verlag AG Berlin, with the mediation of Hofra Kft.
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BpSkizo Csoport |
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Goethe Intézet |
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Osztrák Kulturális Fórum |
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Vates |
„Az elsődleges célunk az volt, hogy megtanuljunk olyan minőségben dolgozni a színpadon, ami az előre rögzített képet próbára teszi. Az élőfilm technikájával azzal kísérletezünk, hogy hogyan lehet filmes illúziókat létrehozni élőben, a színpadon. Létrehozunk egy illúziót, majd azzal, hogy megmutatjuk, ezt hogyan csináljuk, egyből dekonstruáljuk is azt. Mint egy behind the scenes videó, csak minden vágás és beállítás előre ki van találva.” (Sándor Dániel Máté - Revizor)