Thalheimer, the artistic director of Berlin?s Deutsches Theater, was at Budapest?s National Theatre with a production of Faust I, scheduled as part of the Budapest Autumn Festival. Despite the performance being well received, Thalheimer declined to give interviews during his visit to Budapest. However, he did agree to a question and answer session with members of the audience and the press in one of the theatre?s lobbies.
The venue proved insufficient for Thalheimer: he compared it to an average hotel lobby. And that was just the start of his diatribe. Thalheimer criticised the armchairs, the wall-to-wall carpeting, the ?inexplicable ship?s bow, the space allocation which is unsuitable for a theatre, the unstylish ornaments.? He said the building might function as a theatre in North Korea at best, making his point by shaking a fifteen-foot potted plant behind him.
Thalheimer said he was particularly sorry for the Hungarian director Tamás Jordán, whom he respects, because he ?not only has to live here, but also has to make theatre in a scandalous place like this.?
Asked by culture.hu whether he knew of any other theatres in Hungary which might have accommodated his performance of Faust, Thalheimer said, after a brief pause, ?No.?
He then proceeded to ridicule the building?s tasteless furniture and colour scheme.
Although several participants at the question and answer session agreed with Thalheimer?s assessment of the theatre, most were taken aback by the disparagement. A Hungarian theatre director attending the event noted that the building?s reputation had been established on the strength of the National Theatre?s troupe, which includes all of Hungary?s finest theatre professionals.
In an earlier visit to Budapest, Thalheimer found himself the subject of jibes. His production of Ferenc Molnár?s ?Young Lily? at Budapest?s Vígszínház provoked a number of vocal protests from the audience and many theatre-goers left before the end of the performance.
Zsolt Koren
