We began rehearsals for the Ice Cake

Last week, we started the rehearsals for a contemporary play entitled Ice Cake written by Dominik and Viktor Kovács, in the direction of Máté Szilvay.

Dominik Kovács and Viktor Kovács are twin authors and playwrights, born in 1996 in Pécs. As high school students they participated in several literary competitions with short stories, their short stories have been published in Bárka magazine, Új Forrás, Műút portal and Félonline. They graduated in Hungarian Literature and Cultural Studies at the Eötvös Loránd University and are currently doctoral students in theatre studies. Their works have performed abroad, for example in Berlin and at the Theater Winkelwies in Zurich.

“I could say, with a somewhat bombastic expression, that they are the already grown-up prodigies of contemporary Hungarian literature, but what they represent is much more complex, nuanced, conscious and original. They have produced one of the most original playwriting voices of recent years, and their exceptional talent, diligence, creative vitality and work ethic have been confirmed by the profession at home and abroad on many occasions since their inception” – wrote Nóra Sediánszky, dramaturge, theatre director, translator and writer.

The play is a black comedy set in a country confectioner’s shop where the smell of cake mixes with the smell of roast beef, while the interdependence of the widowed owner and his adult daughter creates a chain of conflicts. Behind the grievances that have been guarded for decades, the disappearance of an entire era looms.

Born and raised in Budapest, Máté Szilvay (1990) graduated from Eötvös Loránd University with a first degree in Philosophy and Hungarian, and then successfully completed his studies in directing at the University of Arts in Târgu Mures.

His name used to appear mainly on literary portals and reviews in newspapers and magazines, but his interest gradually turned to music and theatre. He is most interested in the dramaturgy of sound and music on stage: his first major work was a choral theatre production with the Hungarian experimental choir Soharóza, he wrote music for the Ódry stage (Helené), etc. Last October, two of his directions, Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy and As You Like It, were staged at the Tamási Áron Theatre as guest performances, both produced at the University of Târgu Mureș.