As I write these lines, we have already finished three versions of Ten Eskimos, and just a few days ago the three of us, the author, the dramaturg and the director, were sitting in my apartment, giving what we thought was the last injection of the material we were writing. We had stuck to my flat because we had had a crucial meeting in the same place when writing Gypsies and we thought that so many mascots would be a guarantee for the future production.
The pandemic, the war situation, inflation, the social conditions in the country are all factors to which the theatre has to react, and it is obvious that no play has been written that carries these impulses. But here, today, in Hungary, I wanted to make a play about this. Tamara Török, the dramaturge, and I considered our options and decided to write a new Hungarian work. More than ten years ago, we had a very inspiring time with Krisztián Grecsó during the making of Gypsies and we wanted to collaborate again.

The story is set in present-day Budapest, the writer knows who the characters will be in the production, and for simplicity's sake the actors will be on a first-name basis, except for Szike, the oncology professor, and a Futar, whose name we don't need to know. Szike's brother Ági, a former swimming champion, his wife Andrea and their children live abroad. The rest of the family lives in fairly good conditions in a house with a garden in Buda. The only interesting evening for us is when Kata and Béla turn up, followed unexpectedly by Anna and Bence. And David, Szike's servant, pours the better and better drinks.

Gábor Máté

The Courier's attire was provided by GLS Hungary.