The main virtue of Ferenc Molnár's works - whether of the novel or dramatic genre - is formal perfection, the secure fluidity of the plot, and the sophisticated portrayal of the soul. All this is spiced with humour. In this way, even the smallest short story is transformed into an evening of comic entertainment by his ingenuity. His plays have been performed on stages around the world, even on Broadway.
His comedy The Glass Slipper, written in 1924, is the touching story of the overwhelming love of Irma Szabó, a maid in Józsefváros, for the elderly cabinetmaker Lajos Sipos. It is well known, however, that in this bittersweet comedy the author wrote about his tempestuous love affair with Sári Fedák.
In this three-act comedy, rich in twists and turns, Imre Halasi's production presents seemingly insoluble obstacles, the intricacies of relationships that collapse and recover, and human fallibility with the help of his own brand of "Molnár humour" and an irony that reveals the times. The excellent casting, the precise acting in Katalin Fekete's period costumes and Júlia Luca Erdős's elaborate set, transport the audience into the atmosphere of the nineteen-twenties in the Pécs production.
Even today, Molnár's comedy offers the actors a platter of light-hearted performances and the audience a whole evening of thought-provoking entertainment.
Imre Halasi graduated from the Attila József High School in 1969. Between 1969-1970 he was a member of the National Theatre Studio. Between 1974-1979 he was a student at the Academy of Theatre and Film Arts, studying with András Békés and György Lengyel.
Between 1970-1974 he was assistant director at the Csokonai Theatre in Debrecen. Between 1979-1981 he directed at the Mikroszkóp Színpad. From 1981-1982 he was director of the Szeged National Theatre, then for 15 years he was founding director of the Hevesi Sándor Theatre in Zalaegerszeg, and from 1987 he was the theatre's director-general for ten years.
From 1997 to 2000 he was director of the Budapest Operetta Theatre, and from 2003 to 2012 he was director of the Miskolc National Theatre. Guest director in Debrecen, Kassa, the Népszínház, Eger.
