Gábor Csupó is a 67-year old Hungarian-born fellow Californian. As an animator he made his fame and fortune after coming to the US about 40 years ago in the creation of The Simpsons. Ervin Nagy is a 43-year old Hungarian film and stage actor. He had a memorable performance in the Hungarian cult-film Kincsem. Origo is a popular Hungarian news […]
Many of you may not have heard of the ManDoki Soulmates, a “concept group” led by 64-year-old Leslie Mandoki. Recently Mandoki announced the group’s ‘Wings of Freedom’ post-GRAMMY concert on January 29, 2018 at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, saying “ManDoki Soulmates embody the creative spirit of the 1970’s, when artists were striving not only for individual virtuosity […]
Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s Prime Minister, has told his diplomats to charm influential decision makers everywhere, and use every opportunity to convince the world that his image is distorted in the Western media. At home Mr. Orbán is winning far-right voters with revved up racist, anti-Muslin and anti-Semitic rhetoric. Overseas he is advertising a moderate image, as a politician who has […]
One of Hungary’s most celebrated actresses, Mari Törőcsik, is turning 80 this month. When she was approached by the conservative Mandiner website for an interview, she indicated that speaking about contemporary politics was not something with which she felt comfortable. “One side kicks me, while the other lifts me up onto a pedestal–that’s not something that I need,” said Ms. […]
In 1914, at the start of the First World War, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany famously promised that by the time the leaves fall from the trees, the War will be over. But when the signs of a bogged down conflict and a bloody stalemate became evident in December 1914, these words rang very hollow, indeed. Soldiers of Austria-Hungary faced the […]
Joël Pommerat is one of the most dynamic and complex directors of contemporary French theatre. And this time his piece entitled The Reunification of the Two Koreas has made its way to Budapest, where it is being directed by Gábor Máté, with starring roles for János Kulka, Alexandra Borbély and Eszter Ónodi. Mr. Pommerat is no “run-of-the-mill” director and playwright. (Perhaps […]
Budapest’s Radnóti Theatre, with Director Csaba Horváth, has put on a production of the Ancient Greek tragedy Orestes, with a somewhat modern visual spin. Written by Euripides in 408 BCE, the play explores the lasting impact of blood feuds and the necessity of replacing these with a modern civic legal process. The play focuses on the concept of earthly justice […]
Józsefváros, otherwise known as Budapest’s 8th district, has long been one of the most multicultural boroughs in the Hungarian capital. In the early twentieth century, it was home to thousands of rural Jews who moved to Budapest and tried to make a living at the Teleki Square fruit and vegetable market. It has also long boasted a large Gypsy (Roma) […]
“There’s a country (namely, Hungary), which ever since the late 19th century has had a habit of ridding itself of entire sections of its population. If the targeted groups don’t realize what’s going on quickly enough and if they don’t flee, then their homeland may end up murdering them”–thus begins Örkény Theatre’s summary of its newest play, entitled “This Land […]
Budapest’s National Theatre (Nemzeti Színház) is marking the hundredth anniversary of the First World War I with a play based on a largely unknown piece written by Ferenc Molnár (1878-1952). The early twentieth century author is a household name in Hungary, thanks in large part to his coming-of-age novel, The Paul Street Boys (1907), which is essentially canonical young adult […]
