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THE PENELOPIAD
Written by Margaret Atwood
Directed by Zoltán Balázs
Penelopiad is Margaret Atwood’s unique myth adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey, the Trojan War, and the queen of Ithaca, Penelope, the embodiment of female fidelity: a modern-day echo and reflection of Penelope’s story, transposed into a dramatic structure. The highly successful novel written in 2005 is an extension of the tragic fate of Penelope in the captivity of Hades, a projection of the pain and guilt felt by the cruel murder that claimed the lives of the Handmaids.
Zoltán Balázs’s direction retells the well-known ancient story from the personal perspective of Odysseus’ experienced, brave and resourceful wife, amplifying the female aspects of the myth. The director’s concept, based on an unconventional dramaturgy, creates an unique system of performance based on the virtuoso presence of three actresses, through the special way in which the content-formal units are formulated, through the verbal, acoustic and visual impulses manifested in an exceptional combination.
Gabriella Varga, the actress playing the role of Penelope, won the prestigious Lajos Őze Prize in 2024, awarded annually for outstanding acting performance during the theatre season.
Cast
Penelope: Gabriella VARGA
Helene: Nelli ORBÁN
Handmaids: Edina BAJKÓ
Credit
Hungarian translation: István GÉHER
Dramaturg: Zsuzsanna JURASZEK
Set Designer: Zoltán BALÁZS
Costume Designer: Anikó NÉMETH
Music composer: Adrián KOVÁCS
Production Manager: Katalin Balázs
Creative producer: Sylvia Huszár
Length of performance: ’80 without a break
Opening Nights:
31/5/2024 The Third Place, Budapest
22/7/2024 Gyula Castle Theatre, Gyula
1/10/2024 21. STOBI International Antic Drama Festival, Veles, North-Macedonia
4/10/2024 32. International Theatre Festival Without Borders, Cieszyn, Poland
In co-production with the „STOBI” Antik Drama International Theater Festival (Veles, North Macedonia), the „BEZ GRANICE” International Theater Festival (Czieszyn, Poland) and the Gyula Castle Theater Arts Festival (Hungary)
Suppoted by Ministry of Culture and Innovation (KIM), Embassy of Hungary in Skopje, KKM-VMK, Waclaw Felczak Foundation, List Institute in Warsaw/
Produced by Maladype Theatre
*English-friendly performance. In Hungarian, with English subtitles.
