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Bohemian Life, Alice in Wonderland and Cyber Cyrano will also be on the theatre’s programme this year.
As the new director of the Csokonai Theatre previously revealed, the theatre season in Debrecen will start in autumn at five venues. The Csokonai National Theatre has announced the 2023/24 season programme: 18 new shows, musical cabarets and stand-up comedy are planned for the autumn.
At the press conference at the renovated Csokonai Theatre, Mayor of Debrecen László Papp said, “I am confident that the theatre in Debrecen will move up a level,” In his introduction to the new season, he said that it has been a long time since there has been such an exciting season premiere. “Our job is to ensure the financial and infrastructural conditions are in place. One of the biggest challenges of the past few years has been to meet the expectations of the theatre professionals and audiences in Debrecen,” he stressed.
László Papp said that he was proud of the cultural investments that had been made and that the Csokonai Theatre was also a symbol of renewal.
Deputy Mayor of Debrecen István Puskás noted that familiar journalists usually sit at these press conferences, but this time he saw many new faces, which shows a great interest in the theatre and the new season.
According to the Deputy Mayor, the new professionals who are now joining the theatre will also be active players in the cultural life and community of the city as a whole. He believes that the renewed institution will bring theatre to Debrecen that is worthy of and serves the needs and traditions of its audiences. The deputy mayor said he was looking forward to the new season and that the theatre and its audiences were about to enter a great era.
Szabolcs Mátyássy, director of the Csokonai National Theatre, said the institution would become a three-tier theatre. They are trying to strengthen the prose company, and a dance company will be founded under the direction of Zsófia Nemes.
István K. Szabó, artistic director of the Csokonai Theatre, presented the season’s programme, which they have tried to put together in such a way as to serve a broader audience. As the new directors said, they have a lot of plans. In addition to the theatre festivals, they also talked about the importance of celebrating Csokonai, and in this spirit. For example, they will stage Dorottya, which will end with a ball – but they will bring it to Debrecen instead of Kaposvár.
They all expressed their wish to commemorate the birthday of Mihály Vitéz Csokonai every year.
He also said they would like to emphasise reaching out to young audiences, including those who have outgrown Vojtina. This programme will include Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Astor Piazzolla’s Maria de Buenos Aires.
The previously highly successful series The Stories of the Body, written and directed by András Visky, will continue, while the ghost of Szilárd Borbély will also be evoked; based on the novel The Penniless.
Zsófia Nemes, head of the Csokonai Theatre’s dance department, said it was great for her to belong to this community. She feels it is important to reach out to people; in this sense, she has found a partner in the theatre and the city.
Dániel Somogyi-Tóth, head of the theatre’s opera department, said they were planning with responsibility and foresight. He believes that with the new leadership, Debrecen can bring about a new era for opera in the countryside – even with a national impact.
János Szikora, director of the Vörösmarty Theatre in Székesfehérvár, is looking forward to directing Bohemian Life and to meeting the audience in Debrecen.
Ernő Verebes, the playwright, spoke about the play Dorottya by Csokonai, which will be premiered in November. He praised the deep layers of the text and the character of the eponym of the theatre. The Macedonian director Dejan Projkovski will present Dostoyevsky’s The Devils to the Debrecen audience: the play will focus on exploring the heart and soul, the re-creation of man, according to the expert.
The theatre will organise a picnic on the 12th of July at the open-air stage, where everyone is welcome to meet and chat, and from the 22nd of August, the purchase of season tickets will also start.
The Csokonai Theatre’s shows for the 2023/24 season:
Csokonai Theatre
- Giacomo Puccini: La Bohème (director: János Szikora)
- Mihály Vitéz Csokonai : Dorottya (director: István K. Szabó)
- J. B Moliére – J. B. Lully: Citizen of the Lord (director: Attila Keresztes)
- F. M. Dostoevsky: Devils (director: Dejan Projkovski)
Csokonai Forum – Latinovits Hall
- Lewis Carroll – Csaba Mikó: Alice in Wonderland (directed by Csilla Bereczki)
- Astor Piazzola: Maria de Buenos Aires (directed by Lóránt András)
- Euripides: The Trojan Women (director: István K. Szabó)
Csokonai Forum – Kóti Árpád Hall
András Visky: Stories of the body (III-IV) (director: Andrej Visky)
- Szilárd Borbély: Penniless (director: Bálint Botos)
- Csaba Kiss: Dangerous Affairs (director: Csaba Kiss)
- Hanoch Levin: Jacob and Lájdentál (directed by Árpád Árkosi)
PR-Evolution Debrecen Contemporary Dance Ensemble
- Blue Men and White (choreographer: Zsófia Nemes)
- Agapé (choreographer: Zsófia Nemes)
- Da Vinci’s Smile (choreographer: Zsófia Nemes)
- Towards Totality (choreographer: Zsófia Nemes)
CSIP Programme
- István Tasnádi: Cyber Cyrano (director: Péter Tasnádi-Sáhy)
Csokonai Orfeum
- Musical cabaret, stand-up comedy
Invited season opera performances
- Maurice Ravel: Shepherd’s Gate/The Child and the Magic (director: Gábor Tompa)
- Sándor Petőfi – Adrián Kovács: The Hammer of the Place (director: Zalán Zakariás)
Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu
