When Ivanov premiered at the Katona József Theatre five years ago, you were three years younger than your character in the title role, whom Chekhov described as a 35-year-old. Have you too changed a lot since?
I have probably grown into the role but this is difficult to tell from the inside, to notice changes if there are any. I am sure there are some, if only because the two women who love me in the play are not the same. When the play premiered, Eszter Ónodi played the character of my wife and Anna Szandtner was my fiancé. Later, Ildikó Tóth took over the role of Anna and Adél Jordán became Sasha. It was good to be Ivanov next to all of them, also because the main strength of this performance is that it is a joint one. Audiences, especially in the west, clearly appreciated this togetherness (and perhaps envied it a little) when we toured with Ivanov. This June, when we played in New York, the most characteristic reaction was that the applause was the loudest when we all bowed together.
Where did Ivanov have the greatest success? Was it in Moscow, where you won the award for best foreign guest performance?
No, we actually felt the reception for the first performance was rather reserved there. During the applause at the end, we felt as if there was a debate among the audience: some were enthusiastically cheering and then there were others who were applauding against the enthusiasts. At the remaining performances in Moscow, the audience's appreciation was more obvious, but we encountered the most understanding, sensitive and loving audience in France where even in small towns, the public would give us a wonderful reaction. Of course, playing Chekhov, or Gorky, in Russia is always a special experience. We last performed Ivanov and The Barbarians in Saint Petersburg, both directed by Ascher. Prior to that, we travelled to Plzen to perform Christmas at the Ivanovs and in October, we'll take Black Battles with Dogs to Metz, the hometown of the plays author Bernard-Marie Koltés.
Since you mentioned Black Battles with Dogs, let me say that I believe in that play you have become a matured, relaxed, important and well-established middle-aged actor.
Well, in that play I am not at all relaxed. The performance was directed by Sándor Zsótér, who is a positive terrorist. If you rehearse with him, all you ever want is to please him, with every word and every tone, you are seeking to satisfy Zsótér. This was the first play that I found myself in a situation in which I was not succeeding, and I became a problem character, so the only reason I am not suffering from being in the play is because I like everything in it except myself, including the stage design, the music and the performance of my partners. This play even brings tears to my eyes, partly because of the body paint that we are covered with for the role.
Did you like Scapin, whom you played in Szombathely in late August?
Tamás Jordán invited me there and I have been going to Kőszeg for years to perform with him. This time, he called me to Szombathely, which felt especially good because I am originally from the city but I had the nostalgic experience for the first time as an actor that after or before rehearsals and performances I could eat my mother's home-cooking. Moliére's Scapin is a simple but entertaining comedy which we delivered correctly. We managed to entertain the carnival-goers of Szombathely in an acceptable fashion.
Your next role is taking you to Vígszínház, where you will be playing Iago in Othello, directed by Enikő Eszenyi. How did that come about?
Enikő called me and asked if I'd like to do it if the production comes together. I said yes. Once the project was taking shape, I asked my director Gábor Zsámbék if it was OK for me to take the role and he said it was feasible. The task had many draws for me. It will be good to step on a new stage, stand in front of a different audience and play on a larger stage with different partners. But the greatest draw is the role itself.
If you had been offered the role of Othello instead, would you have been interested?
That did not occur to me. Even though we tend to picture Othello as a tall soldier-like figure, Zsolt Nagy, who will play him, is not really that type, but still, he demonstrates a sincere, open and passionate power. I am somehow a more defensive type. For me the exciting character is Iago, because he demonstrates a wider scale of characteristics. He is a liar, a go-getter, a pretender and someone who can abuse and mislead others. He is always changing, while we know what he really is like. Iago is a real actor. What else would be a more desirable role for an actor?
Interviewer: Andrea Stuber / Photo: Dániel Kováts
