‘About King Saint Vladislav is the summing-up of our accomplishments of
the past ten years. Our performance is, in the Peter Brookian sense,
’sacred theatre’. King Vladislav, a key figure in Hungarian history,
represented a bridge between cultures, generations, regions and
peoples. By conjuring him, we are searching for up-to-date answers to
the mission of humankind. We would also like to make up for the gaps in
the tradition of historical plays in our theatre’s history using a
special, long-hidden, peculiarly Hungarian theatrical language of
forms.
The play was written by Márta Tömöry, and is based on the Képes Krónika
(The Illustrated Chronicles), fragments of old Vladislav songs, saint’s
day songs, incantations, folk-legends and other material collected
during the 20th century. We also use ancient mimetic theatrical
elements (the character of the Ob-Ugrian Janus-faced Jalpi), elements
of No theatre (masks, text: a texture of chorus and solo parts,
abstract dances), dolls and masks. The performance takes place in an
open theatrical space decorated with carvings engraved on centuries-old
planks fixed onto wheels, and pictures resembling a Saint Vladislav
mural cycle, using a giant doll the size of an idol, characters in
gloves and people changing masks. Costumes are made from the finest
materials using appliqué and painted ornaments.’
Márta Tömöry
’The possessors of various powers are convinced that Saint Vladislav is
a dead, academic subject. This is the silence of the ones who force the
silence. But this time public silence is the silence of the heart. The
heart works secretly, it sustains life unnoticed. And how many hearts
make a people? How many hearts beat for the king?’
Péter József Gál
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