PanoDrama's Rehearsed Readings of New International Drama at the Annual Hungarian Theatre Festival POSzT

5-8 June 2009, Pécs

Continuing the tradition started last year PanoDrama produced three staged readings at the Annual Theatre Festival of the Best Productions in Pécs. Three packed houses in the House of Arts in this mediterranean Hungarian city were witness to the success of the genre, the plays and PanoDrama's initiative.

Lukas Bärfuss: The Test

translated by Attila Lőrinczy

After last year's success with The Bus, the most exciting Swiss playwright of our days was given another reading of a new play, whose translation was commissioned by PanoDrama and paid by the Goethe Institute. His earliest play, The Sexual Neuroses of Our Parents will be directed by the same director to open in early autumn as the first ever Bärfuss-premiere in Hungary.

with István Gyuricza, József Kelemen, Lia Pokorny, Szabolcs Thuróczy, Olga Varjú

Dramaturg/Producer: Anna Lengyel

Directed by Attila Réthly

Vasily Sigaryev: Guppi

translated by Annamária Radnai

One of Russia's most successful playwrights, who has had several exciting productions in Hungary inspired the translation, which was then co-financed by PanoDrama. The reading had a star cast and will be repeated in the autumn before the full production soon coming up.

with Imre Csuja, Anna Györgyi, Péter Scherer

Directed by Csaba Kiss

Alice Müller: Elvira and Petunia

This play, written in Hungarian by a Swiss playwright, won third place at PanoDrama's playwriting workshop this past winter. Alice Müller is an actor, playwright and director, who participated at the rehearsals of her short absurdist drama to get a first full reading at the festival. A discussion with the author followed.

with Eszter Bánfalvi, Tibor Mertz, Tamás Ujláb, Tibor Urbán, Marianna Szalay,

Directed by Böbe Bodor

The first year's program in 2008 included
The Bus by Lukas Bärfuss

translated by Ildikó Gáspár

with Ferenc Elek, Judit Pogány, Anna Szandtner, László Szula, Krisztina Urbanovits, Zoltán Varga

dramaturg/producer: Anna Lengyel
directed by Andor Lukáts

Mobile Horror by Juha Jokela

translated by Yvette Jankó-Szép

with Attila Magyar, Gábor Róbert, Ákos Orosz, Edit Vlahovics

Shadow of a Boy by Arne Lygre

translated by Éva Dobos

with Zsuzsa Horváth, Erzsébet Nagyváradi, Anna Orosz, András Pál, Tibor Szakács

Dramaturgy by Judit Garai

Directed by Gábor Czeizel

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.