In Hungarian, with English subtitles.
“Something important happened. People started to talk. About things that the theatre doesn't talk about and in a way the theatre hasn't spoken yet.”
Andrea Tompa, szinhaz.net,
(the online version of Hungary’s leading theatre magazine)
After appearances in Strasbourg, Prague and Lyon, the independent company PanoDrama bring their ground-breaking production back to Budapest. ‘Word for Word’ was the first verbatim show to be presented in Hungary, and tells the story of the 2008-2009 random racist attacks against the Roma in nine different villages and small towns, during which five adults and a five-year old boy were gunned down after they fled their houses that the murderers had set on fire. The performance recounts these Ku-Klux-Klan type executions using the words of victims, survivors, family members, lawyers, policemen, mayors, and representatives of minorities in these communities. The bulk of the performance comes from more than sixty hours of interviews the creative team and cast conducted with those affected, and although some found texts are included, not a single word has been changed or stylised.
‘Frontline in the East’ is a new book by the renowned publicist and film director András B. Vágvölgyi, and is the product of a five-year long dedicated investigative journalism quest, with its roots in the trial of the four men arrested for these appalling crimes. While ‘Word for word’s primary focus is the victims, the book concentrates on the culprits and on justice having been or not having been served, also putting these racist murders into an international historical context (from the 1944 formation of the Hungarian ‘frontline in the east’, through ‘Missisippi Burning’ to the recent neo-Nazi NSU murder spree in Germany).
From the reviews of the performance:
The staging hits the bull’s eye with regards to a depressing present, when the third biggest party in Hungary demands that the “Gypsy parasites” be smoked out and Jews be listed.
Kristina Lindquist: Dagens Nyheter, March 12th 2013
These murders and the lenient attitude of the public is what Anna Lengyel talks about in her documentary theatre work. Word for Word which premiered in 2011 is a raw and shocking evening as far as its findings go.
Esther Slevogt: nachtkritik.de
"The first verbatim theatre in Hungary is really a pioneer in setting the roots of documentary theatre in Hungary and almost unprecedented in the way it talks about social and political issues, while also novel in methodology and form.”
Fanni Nánay, Ellenfény
(the second most important theatre magazine)
You can see the method here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwBmW8aMerc
Performers: BÁNKI Gergely, FEUER Yvette, ORSÓS Róbert, ÖRDÖG Tamás, SCHERMANN Márta, SZAMOSI Zsófia, URBANOVITS Krisztina
Dramaturgy: BÍRÓ Dénes, GARAI Judit, HÁRS Anna, MERÉNYI Anna
Video: BÍRÓ Dénes, KORÁN Gabriella
Light designer: VIDA Zoltán
Directed by: LENGYEL Anna
A roundtable discussion, moderated by the award-winning journalist Szilvia Varró, will also take place, with the following participants:
Krisztina Baranyi, who was inspired to become a politician after the attacks
József Gulyás, a national security expert
Anna Lengyel, director of the performance
Dr. László Miszori, the original trial judge (as seen in the film ‘Judgment in Hungary’)
András Vágvölgyi, journalist and film director, and the author of ‘Frontline in the East’
If you buy your ticket for the show online, you’ll receive a 20% discount compared to tickets bought at the box office.
“Something important happened. People started to talk. About things that the theatre doesn't talk about and in a way the theatre hasn't spoken yet.”
Andrea Tompa, szinhaz.net,
(the online version of Hungary’s leading theatre magazine)
After appearances in Strasbourg, Prague and Lyon, the independent company PanoDrama bring their ground-breaking production back to Budapest. ‘Word for Word’ was the first verbatim show to be presented in Hungary, and tells the story of the 2008-2009 random racist attacks against the Roma in nine different villages and small towns, during which five adults and a five-year old boy were gunned down after they fled their houses that the murderers had set on fire. The performance recounts these Ku-Klux-Klan type executions using the words of victims, survivors, family members, lawyers, policemen, mayors, and representatives of minorities in these communities. The bulk of the performance comes from more than sixty hours of interviews the creative team and cast conducted with those affected, and although some found texts are included, not a single word has been changed or stylised.
‘Frontline in the East’ is a new book by the renowned publicist and film director András B. Vágvölgyi, and is the product of a five-year long dedicated investigative journalism quest, with its roots in the trial of the four men arrested for these appalling crimes. While ‘Word for word’s primary focus is the victims, the book concentrates on the culprits and on justice having been or not having been served, also putting these racist murders into an international historical context (from the 1944 formation of the Hungarian ‘frontline in the east’, through ‘Missisippi Burning’ to the recent neo-Nazi NSU murder spree in Germany).
From the reviews of the performance:
The staging hits the bull’s eye with regards to a depressing present, when the third biggest party in Hungary demands that the “Gypsy parasites” be smoked out and Jews be listed.
Kristina Lindquist: Dagens Nyheter, March 12th 2013
These murders and the lenient attitude of the public is what Anna Lengyel talks about in her documentary theatre work. Word for Word which premiered in 2011 is a raw and shocking evening as far as its findings go.
Esther Slevogt: nachtkritik.de
"The first verbatim theatre in Hungary is really a pioneer in setting the roots of documentary theatre in Hungary and almost unprecedented in the way it talks about social and political issues, while also novel in methodology and form.”
Fanni Nánay, Ellenfény
(the second most important theatre magazine)
You can see the method here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwBmW8aMerc
Performers: BÁNKI Gergely, FEUER Yvette, ORSÓS Róbert, ÖRDÖG Tamás, SCHERMANN Márta, SZAMOSI Zsófia, URBANOVITS Krisztina
Dramaturgy: BÍRÓ Dénes, GARAI Judit, HÁRS Anna, MERÉNYI Anna
Video: BÍRÓ Dénes, KORÁN Gabriella
Light designer: VIDA Zoltán
Directed by: LENGYEL Anna
A roundtable discussion, moderated by the award-winning journalist Szilvia Varró, will also take place, with the following participants:
Krisztina Baranyi, who was inspired to become a politician after the attacks
József Gulyás, a national security expert
Anna Lengyel, director of the performance
Dr. László Miszori, the original trial judge (as seen in the film ‘Judgment in Hungary’)
András Vágvölgyi, journalist and film director, and the author of ‘Frontline in the East’
If you buy your ticket for the show online, you’ll receive a 20% discount compared to tickets bought at the box office.
