The performance covers the period during which the libelled/persecuted and unjustly forgotten Immanuel Löw, the chief rabbi of Szeged between 1878 and 1944, spent his time in detention and under house arrest. He was kept in lockup from April 23, 1920 until May the same year, after which he was transported to the prison in Szeged, where he stayed until July 12, and then he was kept under house arrest at 8 Korona (today Hajnóczy) Street, Szeged, near the Old Synagogue. During his detention, he wrote and edited Die Flora der Juden, a book of plant names from the Old Testament, which still serves as an important document in the field. He revised and extended his essay dedicated to his wife, entitled Kiss, and completed his brief autobiography, as well.

The text of the performance is based on Immanuel Löw’s writings, newspaper articles of the period and archive documents. Written and edited by Zoltán Perovics and Zoltán Lengyel.

“You must work in the present and must search the past, the spiritual heritage of the past. You are the bond between ancestors and late-born descendants.”
(Immanuel Löw)
 
“Blood-spilling madman on the tram. From Budapest: upholsterer József Bogdán from Debrecen got on the tram on Károly Boulevard, Budapest, where he got insane, drew a knife and stabbed five travellers several times without any reason. Finally a lieutenant knocked him off with a sword. The angry crowd left the madman in his blood.”
(Délmagyarország, April 24, 1920)

“We think that however wide that abyss is, it must be bridged by mutual need and filled by common sense – deep in their hearts all of the citizens of this town wish to make it possible for this man of books and flowers (who even during the time of being slandered worked for the greater glory of the town) to complete those two volumes on biblical flowers peacefully and unbothered, surrounded by the respect of fellow citizens and the soft light of his home lamp.”
(Ferenc Móra)

“And the soul rises. For the soul is awake only then when it dreams about its God; just like when the inflamed flying wreck of deceased worlds sparkles on the sleeping sky of the night – the shining camp of swarming stars.”
(Immanuel Löw)

performed by: Balázs Erlauer, Jovánovics József, Gábor Péter Kovács, Sára Kovács Vecei, Nóra Lengyel, Zoltán Lengyel, Dániel Manga, Zoltán Perovics
costumes: Róza Bánki
archive research by: Turi Tímea
editor-consultant: Schwimmer Péter, Weiner Sennyei Tibor
voices: Czene Csaba, G. Erdélyi Hermina, Nádasi László, Szabó Domokos, dr. Balogh Iván, Keller György, Kocsik András, Kovács Anna Anita, Orcsik Roland, Tóth Balázs Zoltán, Turi Tímea, Weiner Sennyei Tibor, Szőke Szabolcs, Tóth Evelin
recordings made by: Hunyadi Zsolt, Schwimmer Péter
assistant to the director: Zoltán Lengyel
directed by: Zoltán Perovics

Supported by: NKA, OKM, Grand Café, ColorZoom, Garaboncziás

Special thanks to: Attila Etele Kiss, Anna Csuri, Dezső Szabó , Gina Szabó, Zsófi Rábel, Bálint Nádas and Julianna Petró

Limited seats. Advance booking at maszk@maszk.hu. Our guests can pick up their tickets on the day of the performance between 5.00 and 5.45 p.m. at Grand Café from the guide of Metanoia Arthopaedics who shows them the way to the venue of the performance, the Arthopaedic Studio.