MU Theatre
Movement and text based performance that keeps renewing itself
Verbal in English
On Wingless Angels is the first stage of a collaboration between an established and a recently debuted contemporary dancer. The duet born out of verbal, physical, written and drawn conversations between 57-year-old Réka Szabó and 27-year-old Zsófia Szász retains the fragmentariness and linguistic diversity of their long-standing, intermittent conversation. The setting for their dialogue is Hungary, where, as a result of 16 years of cultural policy, contemporary dance has become an endangered art form. And where, among the things these two women believe in, many forgotten values await rediscovery – from the freedom of thought through the culture of debate to curiosity. The year is 2023: after more than twenty years, Réka Szabó is putting her company, The Symptoms, into hibernation; Zsófia Szász is at the start of her career, thirsty for recognition, but feels that she does not fit the mould. Their duet is an attempt at connection across generations. But it is also an attempt to grapple with the passage of time as an established artist, or the lack of a future as an emerging one. Can they help each other at least in assessing their situation and in finding the right voice, which is perhaps not insignificant? On Wingless Angels is an inventory of depression and hope, but without self-pity. Etudes for coping with grief and accepting ourselves. It helps us zoom out of ourselves. (Noémi Herczog, curator)
“I originally wished to share my thoughts with you on the subject of hope, but as my stores of hope have definitely come to an end, I will now speak about angels.” – László Krasznahorkai, from his Nobel Prize lecture.
A 57-year-old woman who, three years ago, put her independent ensemble into hibernation – a company she had led for 20 years – and now does not know what to do with herself, with her knowledge, her desire to create, her aging, her longing for an inspiring yet welcoming environment, and the losses and depression of the past 16 years, in this World right now, when the moment to act has arrived. And then there is her confounding passion for contemporary dance, and her conviction that contemporary dance is a political statement.
A 27-year-old dancer-creator whose career is just taking off. Someone who longs to be seen, heard, and recognized. Someone who wants, above all, to dance – but also to create and express herself through any other medium. Her desire for connection and her deeply felt solitude are locked in a perpetual struggle. She wants to heal and to be a healer, to examine things and to understand them deeply. While intensely chasing her future, she wishes for contemporary dance to conquer humanity.
And the place: Hungary, where the cultural policies of the Orbán government have condemned contemporary dance to extinction. A country where so much of what these two women believe in has vanished: professionalism, free and independent thought, a culture of debate, transparency, recognition for the power of inner motivation and curiosity, and the practice of backing up claims with facts and arguments. A country now filled with hope, ruins, doubt, and impatience.
The duet between these two women – driven by their personal revelations and curiosity – is an ever-evolving, living imprint of today's world and the role of art within it. The performance offers a glimpse into their real-time dialogue, delivered through an experimental artistic vocabulary.
CREDITS
Creators, performers: Réka SZABÓ, Zsófia SZÁSZ
External eyes: Lili RAUBINEK, Luca PETRÁNYI
Lighting: Kata DÉZSI
REVIEWS
"Szabó and Szász converse. With words and with movement: they dance each other, their sources of inspiration, depression, doubt, disappointment, and also why contemporary dance is their life. They show what generational difference between two dancers means, and why a movement or an expression loses its validity. But if art is a living and constantly evolving stream, how can an artist remain within it for decades? The performance is about angels without wings, learning, recovery, and ultimately, friendship. About the help offered through attention, a help in which the audience also takes part during the performance."
– Eszter Molnár T.: 'Angyal Van Benne' (There Is an Angel in It)
"The experience of Angels Without Wings is truly unique: at once conscious and spontaneous, it makes you laugh and cry, reflecting on the past, the present, traumas, and losses. The performance is permeated by an honest, confessional openness, which appears both in the personal stories and in the dance scenes. The simple, everyday ways of speaking, the dissolving of painful memories through humour, and the direct honesty that the creators place before us are deeply moving, while the liberated dance at the end of the performance is exhilarating."
– Zsófia Bálint: 'Eltáncolt történelem' (History Danced)
BIO
Zsófia SZÁSZ is a contemporary dancer and a member of the Irene Plaque and The Symptoms. In her performances, she aims for “variable statements”: propositions that seek to be clear declarations while remaining interchangeable with even their opposites, as in Softloneliness (2025) and Softloneliness 3: The Sentimental, forthcoming at Trafó on 27 November 2026.
This season, as a performer she is working in the productions of Máté Mészáros, Márta Ladjánszki, Csaba Molnár, Attila Horváth, Simon Regős and Atanáz Babinchák. She also works as a communication trainer and art therapist, all her different works influence and inspire each other.
Réka SZABÓ is a creator and performer, and the artistic director of The Symptoms, now known as The Break Company. The company was founded in 2002 and went on hiatus in 2023 due to increasingly impossible circumstances brought about by the Orbán government. Since then, Szabó has participated in international projects involving disadvantaged groups and worked as an activist to develop and rebuild a utopian vision for the independent performing arts scene.
In its prime The Symptoms performed 70-90 times per year, built a steady following, premiered 45 productions, and won numerous Hungarian and foreign awards. They have played at countless dance and theater festivals across Europe (like Turning the World – The Place London, Volkstheater in Wien). Their show Apropos was invited to premiere at the Alexander Kasser Theater, New Jersey. Szabó’s first full-length documentary, The Euphoria of Being has won the Grand Prix for best documentary at the Locarno Film Festival, the Human Rights Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival among others, and the film was screened worldwide.
As the name of the company suggests, their work reflects on societal and individual symptoms in a timely fashion. The issues in Szabó’s performances become political in a deeply personal way. Szabó’s works are thought-provoking, dramatic, as well as liberating, marked by a certain ease, an almost child-like sense of abandon, and presented with a healthy dose of irony and humor. Szabó perfected blending physical and verbal expression seamlessly. The Symptoms refused to obey any boundaries between genres.
Réka and Zsófi first worked together as co-creators on the performance A Space for the Taking as part of an international project. Together, they assembled the piece’s inclusive cast of eight, consisting of neurodiverse young people and young contemporary dancers.
CONTACT
Réka SZABÓ
reka@thesymptoms.hu
Zsófia SZÁSZ
szaszszasa@gmail.com