Realized within the framework of the Budapest Nagyregény (Budapest Grand Novel) project, Urbán legendák – A tartozás / Urban Legends – The Debt invites the audience on a special journey through time and space.

György Vidovszky‘s new youth production invites the spectators to step out of the theatre space and into the city, where they can take part in an extraordinary “theatre audio walk” with headphones on their ears. The play is based on Renátó Fehér‘s Kaleidoscope, originally published as the 6th District/Terézváros chapter of the Budapest Grand Novel, which was adapted for Kolibri Theatre by István Tasnádi.

In the story, a father and son set out to collect a debt. They wander the streets of Terézváros from Jókai Square to Nyugati Railway Station, but find only fragments of the past: objects from a lost exhibition from the change of regime, a homeless man from a better time, moments from the ever-changing, much-seen Nyugati Square. The surreal walk, full of surprises, ends with the evocative opening of the shopping mall next to the station. “We got home. We are at home now.”

Urban Legends was premiered on May 4, 2024 within the framework of the Budapest Spring Festival, as part of the Budapest Grand Novel event series. Supported by the Play On! – New Storytelling with Immersive Technologies international project co-funded by the Creative Europe Program of the European Union, the performance is a coproduction of Kolibri Theatre (Hungary) and the Akademie für Theater und Digitalität Dortmund (Germany).

Cast:

SZABOLCS RUSZINA

NORBERT CSERNÁK

MÁRIA KŐSZEGI

GÁBOR KRAUSZ

TAMÁS MÉSZÁROS

DÁNIEL NIZSAI

GYULA KORMOS

JULI ERDEI

BENEDEK DARVAS

and the drama students of Nemes Nagy Ágnes Art High School

Creatives:

Based on Renátó Fehér’s Kaleidoscope written by ISTVÁN TASNÁDI

Design, costume – PATRÍCIA PAJOR, ANETT HERMAN

Audio walk coordinator – MARIUS ZOSCHKE (DE)

Site-specific choreography – AGNIJA ŠEIKO (LT)

Augmented Reality (AR) design – CSABA KIRÁLYHÁZI

Music – ANDRÁS MONORI

Interactive sound – PÉTER MÁRTON

Motion capture optimalization – BEKA TCHARBADZE (GE/DE)

Motion capture double – LAURA WALTZ (DE/FR)

Technical manager – ISTVÁN FARKAS

Assistant director – ANDREA HAJSZ

Director – GYÖRGY VIDOVSZKY

Photos: Judit Horváth

It was a great joy and honor for the company to receive at the premiere Marcus Lobbes, director of the Akademie für Theater und Digitalität Dortmund, co-creators Agnija Šeiko (Lithuania) and Marius Zoschke (Germany), as well as Sven Laude from Play On!.