The empty civilian flat with its three rooms can create a special theatrical atmosphere, which has become the home of the fifteen years old Troupe of Maladype during the last seasons. The middle, biggest room can offer the studio sized performing area with the tiny auditorium (with the great advance of free organisation). The doors that lead to the side rooms and the hall can offer free paths. The intimate area needs a puritan performing style, and those kinds of plays and adaptations at the same time, which take strongly into consideration that the most monumental happenings have to have enough space on the almost five times four metres. Advantage can comes from the need – and thanks for the close connection with the viewers, there is a chance for a special, intensive theatrical experience.

Szabolcs Hajdu: Ernella’s at Wolf’s

The performance, which has been written and put on stage by Szabolcs Hajdu, shows the performance of “a flat in the flat”. The place of the play is exactly a civilian flat in the centre of the town, so the place can stay what it is without any transformation. We can see the whole of the flat of theatre. Where we are sitting – some dozens of viewers and the actors – is the living room of the flat from the play. Behind the doors of the two side rooms, which open from here, we can imagine the children room and the room, which is actually used as a guest room – the common paths make us remember it – and even the hall performs together with the entrance. Wolf (Szabolcs Hajdu) can look through the real window onto the real square, then he runs down there; we can hear his sound while he is shouting around the neighbourhood.

Of course, we do not watch a reality show – as the square itself and the some of the properties are real, some other properties and tools are so surreal. The dining table is covered by such a group of clothes, where seemingly, all the clothes, which must be ironed, are sewed on somehow; the foods are dark green, the vine is light blue (set designer: Emese Moroncsik). The same kind of dual nature characterises not only the surroundings of properties but the cast too. The two about forty years old couples are performed by actors, who are almost at the same ages (Ernella’s: Erika Tankó and Domokos Szabó; Wolf’s: Orsolya Török-Illyés and Szabolcs Hajdu), but the children are also performed by adults (Ágota Szilágyi and Imre Gelányi). This solution can show the group picture of “small ones” and “big ones” in a kind of curved mirror.

There is a home like set of fire at the Wolf’s: these are usual pieces of unhappiness and kitchen psychology, which is used routinely – business as usual. (You have said that. – But I have not said it, but. – You are not right, here it is, I have written it down.) And then – however, they have planned the working abroad for a longer period of time – after a year of being away the Ernella’s arrive. The quickie has not done a lot for their marriage, Ernella has done it with their farmer employer, their older daughter has not found her place for a while in the wandering. Without a flat, they move in the relatives’ (the women members of the couples are siblings), which can mainly increase the number and size of friction surface. There is jealousy and acrimoniousness on one side and contempt and condescension on the other one.

The group, which is formed mostly from the guest performers and some Maladype members, can put together from tiny mosaic pieces the variation of the state of the three generations of “How are you?” Well! A little bit more detailed? Very badly.” There are relationships close to failure, the inabilities to communicate, monotony, boredom, children, who are not loved (well) and a father, who is neglected and financially exploited... The interpreted material of life comes from the everyday life experiences of the generation, which the performing actors are members too; the personality of speeches refer to the fact, that they might have worked out the situations together, before they have gained their final forms. The sharp diagnose is shown without any didactics and any types of judgement. The performing style is direct and subdued: the performance is characterised more by the simple being together on the same place than by any kind of “performing”. It does not mean that the artistic presence does not have any weight. The strongest scenes can be connected to Szabolcs Hajdu’s performance, but all of them have their own not only elevated moments but their (even so minimal) properties, and sense of humour to make the performance always live, and to make it especially entertaining.

After a while it turns out that: these situations of neither with you, nor without you, can end in the choice of “with you” or “together with all of you”. The children perform a nice tale play to the adults, who – however, together with some kind of impatience – seem to be accepting finally towards their naughty kids. And towards each other as well. Eszter (Török-Illyés) expresses her attachment with exaggerated compliments, when she is afraid of the fact, that Wolf (Hajdu) seriously takes into consideration the possibility of divorce. Then a little bit later, Wolf, is the one, who says, that: to be able to feel happy, he may not have to wait for miracles, their relationship is a value on its own. In spite of their various uncertainty of life, the other coupe does not intend to pull in two directions.

They are laying the table for a lunch together, they are waiting for the siblings’ father. The piece seems to be saint on all level. From the radio the Imagine can be heard as a music of piece, which makes the situation a little bit ironic. The possibilities are given, but before we would get emotional, we must think it over: how possible it can be, that from now on, all the confused relationships, which we have seen, would become clear and fresh at once? But after all these, it could be hoped – and it would not be a little thing! – that everybody tries to treat all those a little bit wiser, more patiently, which they could not have done so far.

Adrienne Dömötör, Criticai Lapok, 2016

(translated by: Veronika Fülöp)