In Sándor Zsótér’s – who uses the Brecht text, which has rewritten Don Juan by Molière – performance the world-wide famous, mythical seductive man is not interesting because of his flirting, not because of the broken hearts that fall to his foot. The Don Juan by Maladype interprets topics, which are heavier: this performance is about the opposition of dishonesty, depravity and cleanliness, about the pair fight of material and majestic. The hypocrite Don Juan, who is not afraid of any kind of meanness, has to fall, not because of the fact that he has humiliated, but because – according to the judgement of the performance – it cannot happen that somebody would live in the world, who also denies even the idea of moral or the desire to improve something.

To make us feel the weight of the bet, Zsótér makes his actors play all along in duality: the place of the performance is placed between the carpet and the same kind of ceiling carpet, which have been made according to the painting of, In the sky by Salvador Dali Gala and Dali. It is placed on a strangely grotesque space, in the hug of the upper places. The characters talks many times to the porcelain Jesus, Maria and Maria Magdalena statues instead of the live actors, that special way they can sign the characters’ symbolism, and the metaphorical additional content of the situations. What a strong sign it is, if the seduced young girl can see an equality between the figure of Jesus and the real living Don Juan! It also always makes the viewers examine the man from the point of view of the majestic one, do not take given and unchangeable the characteristic of the one, who is always chasing the concrete things.

In spite of the serious and after all gloomy topic, Zsótér can create a performance with impressive ease. Together with Júlia Ungár’s perfect modern comments and manner of speaking, sometimes with really tiring jokes, with eclectic and surprising picturesque world (with Don Juan, who uses a half cut toy baby as his wig, and appears in his wide pink suit and trainers). He does it with his performance method, which is far from the realism. This two hours long performance, without any breaks, which is performed in an airless room, can keep our attention, not only because of these, but because of the actors’ outstanding performances too.

Ákos Orosz can reach that bravura that while he is telling his text by interpreting it at the same time, he can present punctually all layers and contradiction, seriousness and frivolity, gracefulness and petty things of Don Juan’s personality. His helper, Sganarelle is performed by Zoltán Lendváczky with remarkable confidence, he performs this character by travelling with the punctuality of schedule between morality and immorality. The others perform many bigger and smaller roles: Erika Tankó can create a perceptible character for all of them, from a gesture or a quiver. Norbert Nagy performs types of characters with really professional technical knowledge. Rita Kerkay’s young silly girls’ and women’s have expressive eroticism. Márton Pallag mostly makes characters vivid that are carved of one stone.

After Don Juan has died, he plays on his tiny ukulele the greatest song of the Kispál és a Borz, then he disappears from the world. This duality is the best in Sándor Zsótér’s performance of Don Juan: this performance is made of stone, but because of its light structure, it can float on the surface of water.

Bálint Kovács, Egyfelvonás, Origo/Kultúra, 2013

(translated by: Veronika Fülöp)