The festival will kick off with Evangélium, a joint production by the Zsámbék Theatre Base and Fortedanse, choreographed and directed by Csaba Horváth. The critically acclaimed piece, picked as part of Hungary's Year of the Bible programme, shows the stations of the cross.
Returning to the festival from Ukraine will be the Illyés Gyula Hungarian National Theatre company with two productions directed by Attila Vidnyánszky: Imre Madách's The Tragedy of Man on June 26 and Boccaccio's Decameron on August 21. Vidnyánszky will also bring a production of Szilárd Borbély's Halotti pompa (Deathly Pomp) to the festival. The piece will premiere on September 11.
As part of Hungary's Renaissance Year 2008 programme, the Zsámbék Theatre Base will show Shakespeare's Midsummer's Night Dream, directed by Viktor Bodó, on July 24-27. László Lukács puts an entirely different spin on the same play in a production he will show at the festival four times between July 31 and August 3.
Anna Szandtner, a piece directed by Gábor Máté that transforms everyday language into daring metaphors, will be performed by the AlkalMáté troupe on August 7-10.
As it has since 1992, the Zsámbék Theatre Base will again host a festival for ethnic Hungarian theatre troupes based outside of the country on July 11-13.
In addition to theatre, jazz and church music as well as film screenings will also be on the programme of the Zsámbék Theatre Base. Bálint Szombathy will lead a workshop on transforming wood, grass and straw into works of art at a workshop called Land Art on June 26-29.
The Zsámbék Theatre Base will run until September 21, Cultural Heritage Day.
Photo: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
