Performance(s)
Venue and date:
Calvary of Magyarpolány
2023. 05. 25., 21:00
2023. 05. 26., 21:00
2023. 05. 27., 21:00
2023. 05. 28., 21:00
2023. 06. 02., 21:00
2023. 06. 03., 21:00
Company:
Residents of Magyarpolány
Photo: György Tihanyi
Theatre

Passion of Magyarpolány

Performance(s)
Venue and date:
Calvary of Magyarpolány
2023. 05. 25., 21:00
2023. 05. 26., 21:00
2023. 05. 27., 21:00
2023. 05. 28., 21:00
2023. 06. 02., 21:00
2023. 06. 03., 21:00
Company:
Residents of Magyarpolány
Author:
Tibor Várszegi - Gyula Szarka
Director:
Tibor Várszegi
Stage designer, Costume designer: 
Annamária Húros
Composer: 
Gyula Szarka
Synopsis

A Passion play commemorating the story of Jesus' suffering is brought to life only in a very few places in Europe. To our knowledge, it is played annually only in Magyarpolány, where this play has been running for 30 years. 150 out of the 1 200 inhabitants of the Europa Nostra award-winner settlement participate in this performance every year.

In 2023, for the first time, the center of the story is not the suffering, but the resurrection of Jesus, based on the Gospel of John. It is not by chance that this gospel is also called the gospel of good news or the gospel of love. Therefore, this story is not the story of the crucified Jesus, but the story of Jesus revealing himself. The body posture of the crucified and revealed Jesus is almost the same, only the position of the head is different. The Gospel of John, as a gospel of love, prompts active action, while as a story of suffering, it prompts passivity. Hence, Jesus did not come to Earth and testify about the Truth that resides with the Heavenly Father, in order to take our sins upon himself by dying on the cross. In the Gospel, Jesus himself says that he has come to set an example so that our actions would follow in his lead. It is not myself or my own truth that is important, but my fellow man, for whom I act according to the universal truth, the order of Creation.

Cast
Residents of Magyarpolány
Infos
Runtime: 70 min
Language: Hungarian
Acts: 1
Age limit: No restriction
The Director

As a doctor of literature, the writer-director is the author of numerous studies and books, primarily in the field of theater studies. Editor of theater yearbooks, founder, editor and publisher of contemporary performing arts magazines. His masterpiece is entitled The Joy of Being, with an ontology of performing art, including a hermeneutic approach. Since 1987, he has been teaching at Hungarian and foreign universities as a lecturer or guest lecturer.

He began his performing arts work at the Szeged University Stage in 1980. Later, he founded a student association at the Jászberény College and developed and implemented the pedagogical program of teacher training based on theater art until 1996. In the beginning, under the name Theatre Pont (Point), performances are presented mainly in Budapest until 2014, of which he is the leader, one of the actors and directors. In 2009, he founded an inclusive theater called the MaloM Program (Mill Program), whose performances are now presented in the small villages of the Bakony-Balaton region and Ormánság, one of the southern regions of the country. Presenting 60-65 different performances every year, it is still the only rural theater in Hungary that operates all year round. The seat of the MaloM Program is Magyarpolány, where the residents of the settlement have presented their outdoor Passion play every year for 30 years.

Inviting Theater
Municipality of Magyarpolány