“Otherworld, anniversary, new translation” – we can read them at the beginning of the offer, which is connected to the performance of Trafó. Between the three words, the first one has not got many new information, the second one successfully remains their own work (at least, during the performance there is not any reference to the fact that the ten years old troupe tries to make a part of some kind of “self-mythology” the Dante-like interpretation of the world). Otherwise, the third one shows an important new thing: Ádám Nádasdy has made a new translation of The Divine Comedy by Dante.

Of course, in the performance we cannot listen to the whole Nádasdy’s translation, anyway we can hear some lines from Mihály Babits’ translation and guest texts too. The judgment of the new translation, its critical overview, is not the task of the writer of this critic of course. Which is (also) important, from the point of view of the performance: Ádám Nádasdy brings the text closer not only to the contemporary usage of language, but he keeps neither the Dante-Babits-like structures of rhymes nor the rhymes themselves too – he creates a version of a text, which takes more care of the content than of the poetic nature. Its contrast with the Babits lines are obviously serves the contrast effect. It seems to be a situation, where two eras and two points of view are arguing with one another – this kind of duality can be felt by the central positioning of some characters. From the mass of the characters, four of them are risen: Dante, the traveller, next to him, as a guide, another traveller, Vergil comes, and two other ones, who Dante gets as partners: Beatrice and Lucifer, who stand obviously for the two extreme poles of the introduction.

Almost all elements of Zoltán Balázs’ staging are similarly over thought: the geometrical form, which organises the place, the moving of the volunteering extra characters and their organisation into groups, the rising of actors from the groups, the genderless nature of the characters (or if we like: their androgynous nature without any gender-like characteristics). The atmosphere is perfectly constructed: the lighting, the unified toned view, which is created by only a few tools and the musicians, who are playing percussion instruments (Ákos Kerényi, Kornél Mogyoró) and they can create the mood of entering the inferno with consistent precision. I almost wrote: rite, as the performance has a kind of very strong nature of a rite. Sometimes there is social rite, sometimes the contrast can be felt, sometimes we can hear the monologues by those, who has risen from the crowd, and meanwhile we can be touched by the metaphysical contents of Dante’s text, as well as we can sense the contemporary references too.

But hardly happens anything else than perception. Because, the conception, which is fulfilled with serious artistic devotion, the artistically cold form, can express hardly anything from the beating passion, power, tension of the text. As well as Dante, the viewers are also made to remain an outside observer. As the traveller cannot experience, suffer, accept what he sees, he can only start emotionlessly clever dialogues with his followers. We can hear comments and arguments, without any personality. It seems to be another aim to make the performance, which is lack of all traditional dramatic conflicts and all primer affects, which come from it. For which the performers have all rights to do, but then they should replace it with some other strong effects with different origin.

The tool can be the very coherent visual fantasy, which brakes the lean form. From the poster of the performance, a nice monster-like creature looks down to us; I cannot say that it was likeable for me for the first sight, but after a while, I would really like him to step on stage, even together with his partners. There is a spectacular, whirling crowd, some kind of Greenway-like vision, which tries not to explain the text, but to help us feel it, it can stand in for the lack of tension, passion, personality. (Obviously, the place and technical background of Trafó would be suitable for it.) But in theory I would not exclude the opposite of it. So that the effect of the performance is given by the actors’ presences, and by the power of the declaration of the text. In theory – because in practice it is hard to imagine that kind of artistic power, which breaks the confusion of the stage, which is structure in geometrical forms, and it can stand up against the difficulties, which are caused by the different stylistic level of translations, which are arguing with one another. It can affect the viewers that way to make them forget the need of dramatic nature and formation of situations, let them understand the power of transcendence. It is a difficult task, even if they have to rise up from the crowd for only some sentences, and even more difficult, if they have to keep the accepting attention for a while.

The members of the talented troupe of Maladype, who are gradually formed, have not been able to have that kind of strong presence on stage, suggestiveness, which can make the performance effective on its own. Judit Kovács Ligeti, Erika Tankó, Zoltán Lendváczky, Zsolt Páll and Ádám Tompa can show significantly during some scenes, attitude, fracture of fate, but none of the figures can become really important, we cannot learn about any of them, that why their fate is exactly important from the point of view of the travellers. That way the crowd of the stage, can swallow them easily. Between the characters, who are in the centre, Ákos Orosz and Kamilla Fátyol seemingly try hard, but with less result, to find body for the figures, who are more theoretical than over thought, from the point of view of the stage. Zenó Faragó at the beginning can tell very suggestively Dante’s text, but during the whole performance, he cannot counterbalance the central character’s total passivity. His suggestive outstanding nature, after a while seems to be simply emotionlessness. This latest statement is true in connection with Andrea Ladányi’s Vergil too, who works together with the troupe as a guest star – but with some good will, it can be explained by the emotionlessness of her character too.

The Inferno by Maladype is a properly overthought performance with reliable quality level, which sensibly created with hard work, and leaned on unified teamwork. Zoltán Balázs has worked out, thought over almost everything, except for one thing, that what can give a real tension, importance and deeper meaning for the whole performance. If I want to be optimist, I can tell, that when we get into deeper into the thickness of The Divine Comedy, and we enter the Purgatory or the Paradise together with the troupe, maybe it will becomes clear too.

Balázs Urbán, Ellenfény, 2011

(translated by: Veronika Fülöp)