Gyula's castle, the oldest standing brick fortress in the region, will host the city's six-week summer theatre festival for the 45th time this year. The festival, which kicks off on June 27, promises not just Shakespeare, but premieres of four productions and countless other acts.
The Shakespeare Festival, a festival within a festival, will start July 5 with a production of Romeo and Juliet by London's Shakespeare's Globe and another of Macbeth by the Meno Fortas company of Lithuania directed by Eimuntas Nekrosius. The Gyula Castle Theatre Company and the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj-Napoca will premiere a joint production of Richard III directed by Gábor Tompa, and a production of The Winter's Tale will be performed by a Japanese company.
The second premiere of the summer event will come on July 17, when Debrecen's Csokonai Theatre performs Ferenc Erkel's opera Bánk Bán under the direction of Attila Vidnyánszky. The next premiere, of Zoltán Papp's The Kingdom of King Matthias will be on July 27; and the Gyula Castle Theatre will premiere a production of Sándor Hunyady's comedy July Nights on July 29.
The Illyés Gyula Hungarian National Theatre company of Bereghovo, Ukraine, will bring their rendering of Imre Madách's The Tragedy of Man, also directed by Attila Vidnyánsky, to the festival on July 13 and 14.
Among the lighter performances on the programme are the romantic musical Dracula by the Open Air Theatre and the operetta Countess Maritza.
The Castle Jazz Festival, which is being organised for the 17th year within the framework of the Gyula Castle Theatre, will feature a performance by two-time Grammy-winners The Yellowjackets.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
