This piece is the Veres 1 Theater's own production, which is also completely Hungarian, as it was written by István Tasnádi and directed by his brother Csaba Tasnádi. I’m always happy to go to the theater when I can see a domestic performance because I really feel like it is ours.
The story takes place in the garden of a small rural village. The key figure, Gáspár Blondin, after losing his job and zest for life, sits on the garden toilet and talks to his wife over the wall as he awakens the desire to commit suicide and closes himself. He lives a life insignificant to the outside world, but many could benefit from his death. One by one, people appear who have not been interested in it so far and do not want to dissuade him now, but want to use his suicide in a selfish way for their own purposes. Gaspar therefore sells his death several times. The story shows what people can do to be good to them. All of this is served in a satirical way, in a comical but also thought-provoking way. Are we really like that? Are we really trying to benefit from the misery of others instead of helping him?
A special feature for me was the poetic speech of the actors. At the beginning I had to get used to this way of performing a bit, but after that the comic rhymes came through well. I think it could have been no small challenge for artists not only to recite the text of the poem, but to bring life into it. The set evokes a simple, real little village, and the stage is arranged to the music by the actors themselves during the play.
Sometimes I felt the performance a little dragged and maybe it was a little flat here and there. But this was offset by the free-spoken and outspoken wording of the piece. Overall, I liked it. It was both fun and thought-provoking. If you have the opportunity, check it out because it’s worth it.
Photo: Csilla Madarász
