The performance, to take place at the Flórián Műhely in Óbuda, is part of the Krétakör's "Theatre and Literature" series. It will feature a new translation of the piece commissioned by the Krétakör.
"Rock'N'Roll" is Stoppard's first play to deal with his Eastern European roots - he was born in what is today the Czech Republic. It spans the years from 1968 to 1990 from the double perspective of Prague, where a rock 'n' roll band comes to symbolise resistance to the Communist regime, and of Cambridge, where the verities of love and death are shaping the lives of three generations in the family of a Marxist philosopher.
In a review of the play, UK daily The Guardian writes "what is fascinating about the play is that there are no easy victories... the remarkable thing about the play is that it touches on so many themes, registers its lament at the erosion of freedom in our society and yet leaves you cheered by its wit, buoyancy and belief in the human spirit."
Many of Stoppard's plays have been published in Hungarian, including "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead," "Jumpers," "Travesties," "The Real Thing" and "Arcadia." The first performances of Stoppard's plays in Hungary were by the Katona József Theatre, which staged "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" and "Arcadia" in the 1990s. Európa Publishing House published a collection of plays by Stoppard in 2002.
Andrei Serban emigrated to the US from Romania 25 years ago and is today considered one of the most important theatre directors in the world.
The last performance in the "Theatre and Literature" series was Mihály Babits' verse play "The Second Song", which was performed with the Maladype group at the Rudas baths in December. In November, the Krétakör worked with the Finnish director Kristian Smeds for a ten-day workshop after which they performed Smeds' play "Ice Images."
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
