Murder Game at the Tamási Áron Theatre
On Monday, 22nd April, the Tamási Áron Theatre premieres The Lourcine Street Affair – a black comedy by Eugène Labiche, directed by Árpád Barabás, artistic director of the Tomcsa Sándor Theatre in Odorheiu Secuiesc.
Labiche’s play is essentially a playful proposal, opening a space for play between two parallel worlds. A space where there is an explosive mixture of comic and dramatic, due to incredible twists, confusions and coincidences. Árpád Barabás’s performance is also built on a playful proposition: what if… A crazy world with its own laws is born, a world where form dominates and reality is no obstacle to fantasy.
After a night of drunkenness, Lenglume wakes up one morning in bed with his former high school classmate Mistingue. As the two men struggle to recall and piece together what happened the night before, they notice that some of their personal belongings are missing: an umbrella with a monkey’s head on the handle, and a monogrammed handkerchief. Over lunch, they learn from the newspaper that their belongings have been found next to the body of a pit brow woman. As memory plays tricks on them, the two of them live in the knowledge that they are the perpetrators of a heinous murder. From that moment on, the plot picks up speed, events follow one another at a frantic pace and our heroes, overwhelmed by the nightmare of psychosis, begin to act like real killers…
Eugène Labiche (1815-1888) was one of the most popular French playwrights of his time, writing over fifty successful plays, performed in many languages. However, later his plays were evaluated in the history of theatre by noting that portrayal was not one of Labiche’s strengths, in that the playwright outlined his characters in only a few traits.
Actor Árpád Barabás first tried directing in 2004, and since then he has taken on more and more projects as a director alongside his work as an actor. Numerous acting awards and audience awards have marked his acting career, and in recent years he has also won important awards for his work as a director.
“Realism, naturalism never attracted me, because theatre is essentially creation, not a representation of reality. We build a new world on stage, where expressive acting, in the best sense of the word, and simplicity are what interested me, treating the production as an exercise in style. I don’t like forced efforts, problem solving at any cost. I think that no matter what kind of performances we do, we have to recognize that theatre is still a game and we will not change the world much” – said Árpád Barabás.
The director collaborated with Gellért Szűcs-Olcsváry (set designer), Zsófi Gábor (costume designer), Noémi Bezsán (choreography), Hunor Bálint (video design), Bence Kónya-Ütő (composer)
Cast: Dezső Derzsi, Gábor Erdei, Bence Kónya-Ütő, Szabolcs Varsányi and Hajnalka Szalma.
