Trafó Klub
Opened: 2021
In English
"The genesis of the story behind Living the Dream with Grandma is a specific crisis situation: the 35-year-old grandson (László Göndör), struggling with a self-esteem crisis, moves in with his 97-year-old Holocaust-survivor grandmother (Éva Katona) for a month during the quarantine period. In the piece performed by the two of them, we can only hear fragments of the conversations recorded during their cohabitation, and most of them are not about experiencing the Holocaust, but about the essential and small details of the lives of two people, about understanding the approach and the withdrawal of the other, about the common points that exist despite the generational differences. Since Éva Katona is present in the theatre space only through her voice, it is up to László Göndör to depict the irreducible complexity of her personality in the absence of her grandmother. “You can’t joke about the Holocaust”, she says (or asks?), with a serious face at the beginning of the performance that lacks the “essence, the most important story”, but is humorous, moving, and sometimes embarrassingly honest about the everyday beauty of life that was thought to be impossible to continue." Beatrix Kricsfalusi, curator
CREDITS
Performer, Director, Playwright, Concept: László Göndör
Performer: Éva Katona
Co-director, Playwright, Concept: Kornél Laboda
Dramaturge, Playwright, Concept: Zsófi Bódi
Sound Designer: Márk Bartha
Audio and Video Editor, Concept: Alexandra Láng
Light Designer. Máté Bredán
Set and Costume Designer: Gabriella Csoma
Technician: Ákos “Papa” Lengyel
Sound Engineer: Bence Kovács-Vajda
Documentary Materials, External Consultant: Máté Bartha
Translation: Patrick Mullowney (EN)
External Consultant: Tamás Ördög
Psychologist Consultant, Concept: Lili Olga Horváth
Production Assistant: Zsuzsi Szakács
Production Manager: Dániel Mayer
Tour Manager: Brigitta Varga
Production partner: SzínMűHely Foundation
Co-producer: Trafó House of Contemporary Arts
Special thanks: Andrea Ausztrics, Bence Somoskövi, Ádám Fekete, Tamás Turai, Dániel Daoud, Rozi Szeleczki, Leta Popescu, Péter Hajmási, Zoltán Ásmány, Nelli Orbán, Katalin Farkas, Zsuzsa Bánkuti, Ómama Antik
|| 14+, smoke ||
REVIEWS
“The production Living the Dream with Grandma is a portrait of a woman who survived the Shoah and believed in the ideals of communism. It is also a reflection on how trauma is transmitted between generations and how to talk about the Shoah in art today. It is also a story about the fragility of human being, about the relationships between grandchildren and grandparents, about family customs and humour, about the search for one’s identity as an adult vis-à-vis the image of oneself as a child in the eyes of a grandparent, about the history
of (including our) geopolitical space and its pars pro toto imprint in the life of a strong woman. The production Living the Dream with Grandma is also about many other matters, and this is what is special about this subtle, amusing, and moving production.”
Martina Vannayová, International Theatre Festival Divadelna Nitra (festival booklet)
TOURS & FESTIVALS
Hungary L!ve Festival, New York (US), 2022
Bánkitó Fesztivál, Bánk (HU), 2022
Thealter, Szeged (HU), 2022
Divadelná Nitra, Nitra (SK), 2022
NEXT Fesztivál, Budapest (HU), 2023
MOST Feszt, Tatabánya (HU), 2023
FestivALT, Krakow (PL), 2023
László Göndör
… is a performer and theatre-maker, based in Budapest and Amsterdam. After studying acting and theatre-making in the United States and Indonesia, he continued his adventurous journey in Hungary’s independent theatre scene. His work is known for its ironic and cheeky humour and for striking a balance between entertainment and breaking taboos. He is particularly interested in extending the concept of one-person shows in innovative, self-reflective manners and blending trash aesthetics with conventional beauty.
He raised the attention of the audience and critics in 2018 by staging BajuSS, a neo-dadaist opera. His work was recognized with the Staféta Grant in 2020, awarded to the most promising young Hungarian theatre-makers. In 2022, Living the Dream with Grandma, the show he co-created with his grandmother, won the Péter Halász Award for best innovative theatre performance. Currently, he is a student of dramaturgy at the University of Amsterdam.
CONTACT
Zsuzsa Szakács
rosequimet@gmail.com
+36.70.311.85.06
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SUPPORTERS
Municipality of Budapest, Staféta, FÜGE Production, National Cultural Fund, Orlai Production, Marom Budapest, Jewish Culture 2028, Mozaik Jewish Community Hub, Ministry of Human Capacities, Human Capacities Grant Management Service, Endre Somogyi
The production was realised within the framework of the Staféta programme supported by the Municipality of Budapest.