Bakkhánsnők (The Bacchae) - reviews
Zsótér’s The Bacchae showed a new type of talent, which made the jury pick it as the best performance at the festival for a good reason. (.) Each of the details and props were elaborated on with such a metaphoric preciseness that can hardly be found on stage here. Just as Euripides’s original work, the performance also sheds light on a threatening, dark question; the scene of mere destruction is presented, and this destruction escorts the realisation of Dionysus’s desires.
N. Govedic
The magic of the small stage really got us when we were watching the Hungarian The Bacchae. The small space allowed us to have a close connection to some of the actors on stage. Although the festival’s purpose is the deep analysis and promotion of the classics, only some of the performances were characteristic of it. Paradise Lost, The Bacchae, and the Polish The Night. This year’s festival gave the opportunity to learn about a wide range of performances, different theatrical traditions.
Kim Cuculit, Novi List
Not only these performances mean the beginning for the new theatrical generation; the well-known Katona József Theatre from Budapest staged a radically new interpretation of Euripides’s The Bacchae in Sándor Zsótér’s directing. The theatre has attended several festivals in the last twenty years and is one of the outstanding, independent companies. The Hungarian theatrical culture regularly deals with the classical works and always in a new approach.
Jasen Boko
Once again a unique staging of Euripides’s The Bacchae, performed by Katona József Theatre from Budapest. The performance is based on the radical approach to the ancient text. Director Sándor Zsótér approaches The Bacchae in a minimalist way: the stage is almost empty, a living room half equipped. The performance utilises only few props in a symbolic way (football, bicycle, bread, a ball of twine). The costumes are simple and modern. The chorus is one person. The actors are amazing, the staging is unique, and even the speech was representative.
Tatjana Gasparovic, Vijenac