Book Launch of the anthology "New Finnish Plays" at the Örkény Theatre

PanoDrama's book launch of new Finnish plays 

at 4.30 pm on April 26th at the Örkény Theatre

supported by Finnagora 

The anthology appearing with the Polar Publishing House will be presented by PanoDrama with actors and involving Sirkku Peltola, one of the playwrights, featuring all four translators.

The book can be bought on the spot for 1800 HUF instead of the regular 2800 HUF.

Excerpts will be heard from Mika Myllyaho's Panic  in the rehearsed reading version presented by PanoDrama in March with actors of the National Theatre and directed by Roland Rába, as well as Leea Klemola's wonderful absurd, Kokkola that some might remember from the Krétakör reading three years ago, as well as Juha Jokela's Mobile Horror read at the National Theatre Festival POSzT last year in PanoDrama's three-piece series presenting new international drama and of two plays translated for the anthology: Sirkku Peltola's tragicomedy Finnhorse and Sofi Oksanen's Purging, which has been awarded the Finlandia and Runeberg Awards as a novel.

With:
Hámori Gabriella, Makranczi Zalán, Miklós Marcell, Pogány Judit, Szabó Kimmel Tamás and Szalay Marianna

Guest of honour:
Sirkku Peltola, author of The Finnhorse,

and Pap Éva,
founding director of Polar Publishing House and translator of Purging

and the translators Falk Nóra, Jankó-Szép Yvette and Kovács Ottília

Moderated by
Anna Lengyel

www.panodramaplays.blogspot.com

Chaos by Mika Myllyaho- a work-in-progress premiere

Chaos by Mika Myllyaho

a work in progress premiere of the K.V. Company and PanoDrama

March 16 4 pm at the National Theatre's Kaszás Attila Auditorium

Hungarian translation by Yvette Jankó-Szép

Actresses in all three roles of Emmi, Sofia and Julia:

Kata Bartsch, Böbe Bodor, Ágnes Kaszás, Alice Müller, Zsuzsa Száger, Marianna Szalay, Anna Szandtner, Nóra Dia Takács, Krisztina Urbanovits

Dramaturg and producer Anna Lengyel

Directed by Aleksis Meaney and the Company

Myllyaho's second and darker comedy, Chaos is written for three women, also in their thirties. 

Emmi and Julia are sisters, the younger Emmi a journalist, the older Julia a psychologist, their best friend Sofia is a schoolteacher.  Sofia's school is about to be closed, Julia is starting an affair with a schizophrenic patient, while Emmi - in the middle of a custody battle - is on antidepressants she gets from Julia and against better advice drinks on it. All are on the verge of breaking down one way or another and no wonder that they end up in jail one night. 

Rarely are plays written about women today by a man with such sensitivity, such rambunctious humour and wit. 

In this workshop, which was supposed to be led by the author Mika Myllyaho, who had to cancel on short notice due to health conditions, and was substituted by Aleksis Meaney, his long-time collaborator, following PanoDrama's concept nine outstanding Hungarian actresses in their thirties rehearsed the scenes of the Chaos for a week, at the end of which a ninety minute cross-section was shown to an enthusiastic audience at the National Theatre.

A full PanoDrama production of Chaos will follow in the spring of 2010 directed by Mika Myllyaho as the Hungarian premiere.

Panic by Mika Myllyaho - staged reading at the National Theatre

Mika Myllaho: Panic

staged reading

A PanoDrama production at the National Theatre 

March 11th 2009

Hungarian translation: Nóra Falk

Max         Marcell Miklós

Leo           Tamás Szabó Kimmel

Joni         Zalán Makranczi

Dramaturg and producer   Anna Lengyel

Directed by Roland Rába

Sponsored by Finnagora

One of the most exciting European countries for new drama today is Finland. The Helsinki Theatre Academy has a playwriting program which is responsible for bringing out the most gifted playwrights (and directors) with very different voices from Kristian Smeds through Juha Jokela to Mika Myllyaho on the male side, as well as some of the most brilliant women writers in modern theatre from Sirkku Peltola to Anna Krogerus. Laura Ruohonen, perhaps the most successful Finnish playwright internationally is now head of the playwriting programme.

Founding director of PanoDrama Anna Lengyel has had an intense working relationship with Finnish theatres and authors for over three years and promotes the plays of Nordic Drama Corner as their Hungarian partner.

A staged reading of PanoDrama with the Hungarian Dramaturgs' Guild at the Hungarian Theatre Festival POSzT in 2008 was Juha Jokela's Mobile Horror translated for that occasion. 

The spring of 2009 was devoted to the brilliant comic playwright and director Mika Myllyaho. The first event was a staged reading of Panic. A play about three men in their thirties at the verge of a nervous breakdown is a hilarious comedy of our days, one that runs with full houses of medium theatres all over Finland. 

The Hungarian reading was preceded by a more detailed rehearsal period stretching through a month, but only about three times a week three hours. The actors and the director were all involved in productions of the theatre and had rehearsals and performances in the mornings and the evenings.

The result was a half-staged production, which proved to be such a hit as no one expected it to be. The National Theatre is contemplating producing the full production next year. PanoDrama will in this case waive its right for a first production, but in case the National choses not to produce the show, PanoDrama will.