Trafóclub
Performance
In English
14+
THE MANUAL was a performance series of nine episodes at Trafó by two emerging performance artists, Maja Juhász and Luca Kovács. They presented a new episode every month, eventually condensing the episodes into a whole-night marathon as part of an endurance performance. THE MANUAL thus readily shifts shape, much like the two members of the duo, who are at the start of their careers. With their ambitious first project, they were presumably searching for an artistic identity, a creed. At the same time, with courage worthy of Yes Girls, as it were – after the Yes Men –, they infiltrated various communities that were presumably as alien to them as to their audiences. They ‘tried on’ many strange identities, but all this time they were searching for themselves, both in the exotic landscapes of Hungary and in their own deepening friendship. Both had graduated from classes of the Freeszfe Society, the counter-institution established following the 2020 political takeover of the University of Theatre and Film Arts (SZFE), one in the Theatre-Making programme and the other in the Performance programme. By self-ironically pushing the boundaries of autobiography while not shying away from taking risks, they made a splash with their debut: THE MANUAL. (Noémi Herczog, curator)
"Hi, I’m Luca and I’m Maja and we decided that we want to be the way we want to be even though we don’t know the way we want to be." (Luca Kovács, Maja Juhász)
CREDITS
Concept, performers: Luca KOVÁCS, Maja JUHÁSZ
REVIEWS
"This is definitely the most appealing project of this year’s theater season."
– Puskás Panni, Revizor, 2025.
"M & L, L & M operate with a very high degree of authenticity – they don’t pretend to live life, but instead head out into the world with an energy drink in hand, gather experiences, and share what they’ve gathered quite candidly – consequently, they put themselves in a very vulnerable position, yet they exercise such restraint that even in the most intimate moments of confession, it never crosses the line into prying into private matters."
"They simply stand before their contemporaries – both familiar and unfamiliar – and, in their own direct way, let them into a place where they would normally not be admitted. Sometimes this is boring, sometimes painful for both sides, sometimes colorful, sometimes colorless, but never uninteresting – for the simple reason that Maja & Luca, Luca & Maja trust us more than they trust themselves."
– Molnár Zsófia, Élet és Irodalom, 2025.
"They draw inspiration from everyday life; they transform themselves into works of art."
– 444, 2025.
TOURS & FESTIVALS
NextFeszt, Budapest, 2025.
Thealter, Szeged, 2025.
Bazaar Festival, Prága (CZ), 2026.
BIO
Maja JUHÁSZ and Luca KOVÁCS have been working together as a creative duo since 2023. Their 2024/25 project is a performance series titled 'mostakkor', which consists of nine episodes and was presented at Trafó Kabin. In addition, supplementary parts of the series were shown at the U500 Festival, Forróváltás, NextFest, and Thealter Festival. The use of autobiographical elements and fieldwork as a form of research are of particular importance in their work. Luca KOVÁCS graduated in 2024 from the Theater and Performance program at the Freeszfe Association; during her studies, she met Maja JUHÁSZ, who graduated in 2023 from the Theater Production program at the Freeszfe Association and is currently studying film directing at ELTE.
CONTACTS
Maja JUHÁSZ
jhszmaja@gmail.com
facebook.com/maja.juhasz.96
Luca KOVÁCS
kovacs.luca.anna03@gmail.com
facebook.com/luca.kovacs.315