Vvedensky's writing often put him at odds with the authorities, which led to his arrest and exile. Accused of treason at the start of WWII, he was sent to a labour camp, where he died.
His works remained little known in Russian until long after his death, and they found a wider audience abroad only in the 90s.
The József Katona Theatre will perform the Hungarian premiere of Vvedensky's The Ivanovs' Christmas (1938), translated by István Baka and directed by Péter Gothár. The rarely performed play is one absurd fragment after another loosely held together by a nanny's murder (by decapitation) of one of her charges. Time at once stands still and accelerates as there appear on stage a 66-year-old little boy, a headless girl and a Christmas tree without a cap.
The set lends to the effect: its grey walls are covered with child-like chalk drawings, and accordion doors reveal one scene after another.
The Ivanovs' Christmas by Alexander Vvedensky, directed by Péter Gothár and featuring Ági Szirtes, Ferenc Lengyel, Ernő Fekete, Ferenc Elek, Péter Takátsy, Réka Pelsőczy, Béla Mészáros, Adél Jordán, Lehel Kovács, Anna Pálma and Piroska Mészáros, premieres November 28 at the Jószef Katona Chamber Theatre.
Author: Andrea Stuber
