The Colloquium of Ethnic Minority Theatre – organized every two years by Figura Studio Theatre in Gheorgheni – is the traditional multicultural theatre festival of Transilvania for decades now. Its basic concept is that it provides possibilities for ethnic theatre groups to work together.
The first was organized in 1978 at Sfântu Gheorghe. The next two editions took place again at Sepsiszentgyörgy in 1980 and 1992 respectively. After the third edition it seemed it was the last and ten years had to pass for the next one because in 2001 the Romanian Government – Department of Interethnic Relations proposed its continuation.
At this time there were ten ethnic minority theatres in the country: seven Hungarian, two German and one Jewish. At this time as well Figura Studio Theatre as an institution, lead by András Szabó Tibor, is less than ten years old and of all the ethnic minority theatres the smallest one. Despite this the community working here decides – since no other theatre undertook the organization of the festival – that they ground the Colloquium’s tradition here in Gheorgheni.
Although they have very little time on their hands, thanks to a strong dedication the festival’s fourth edition took place in 2001 at Figura Studio Theatre.
The most prominent novelty of the later editions is that beyond professional theatres a wide number of independent theatres and theatre groups are invited as well as theatres and theatre groups from abroad (Beregszászi Illyés Gyula Hungarian Ethnic Theatre, Cinka Panna Gypsy Theatre, Corvinus Teatrum from Szarvas).
In this sense the festival containing regularly about 23 theatre plays, book launches, concerts, bookfair and workshops tries also to touch on issues like belonging to an ethnic minority and what makes living in Middle-Europe Unique.
Ten years ago Figura’s ventures into movement theatre
were not only novel, but also unique on the palette of Transylvanian theatre:
“Transylvanian theatre has no tradition in movement theatre. There are but a
few productions of this kind on local theatre programs. One exception is Figura
Studio Theatre of Gheorgheni that regularly experiments with this genre. The
movement theatre workshop at Háromszék Dance Troupe specifically concentrates
on this genre, but our judgment will have to wait until the end of the first
season.” (Zoltán Csép: Mozgásban lévő város, in: Criticai lapok, 2006/9.)
For Figura to keep its unique self it constantly had
to undertake the renewal tendencies of theatrical language since it is the only
Transylvanian Hungarian theatre that has the word “experimental” in its
founding document.
It is not by coincidence then that in 2006 dance.movement.theater is
launched, a festival on the crossroads of dance, theatre and movement, since
these aspects were already all present in the Ur-Figura productions. The
productions prior to 1990 although are not explicitly movement theatre
productions, they employ a lot of its tools and concepts.
By the end of the 90’s figures and groups known all
over the Hungarian performance and alternative (movement) theatre were coming
to Figura: László Lantos – Tricepsz, Iván Angelus, Gábor Goda (who’s Gold
Fly production at Figura won the main prize of the Veszprém dance
festival), Theatre Artus, Theatre Andax and Yvette Bozsik who directed to
separate productions at Figura (Playground, 2009 and Peter
Handke: The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other, 2011).
A significant moment is Waiting for Godot of
2001 the audience could witness Beckett’s play as a nonverbal pantomime play
directed by Lóránt András. This was followed by two spectacular contact dance
productions by Péter Uray: The Mill and Ticker,
both of which prove that the history of Figura was intertwined with movement
theatre even before the dance.movement.theater festival was
launched.
2005 saw Figura under the leadership of László Béres
who among other things starts organizing a festival that on one hand reflects
Figura’s unique identity infused with dance and movement and on the other hand
is the alternating festival of the Minority Theatre Colloquium.
This is when dance.movement.theatre is
first conceptualized, but also the time when Figura comes into contact with
Vava Ștefănescu (who directed Stories from the Invisible Town of
2006 at Figura) and through her with the Romanian National Dance Centre from
where most of the financial support used to come.
During the six iterations dance.movement.theatre had so far, it became an international festival with attendees like József Nagy’s Jel Theatre (FR), Pál Frenák Company (FR), Urbán András Company of Kozstolányi Dezső Theatre (SRB) or Çağlar Yiğitoğulları, the Turkish performance artist. Besides these each time saw the staging of quality movement theatre productions both from Hungary and Romania.
2022
● NyárON Szereda (Miercurea Ciuc) - Long–Singer–Borgeson: THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (d. Barabás Árpád)
2021
● Ambijentalni Pozorišni Festival "Novi Tvrđava Teatar" - Ambient Theatre Festival (Novi Tvrđava Teatar, Čortanovci, Serbia) - Füst Milán: THE UNHAPPY ONES (d. Albu István)
● Kisvárda Festival of Hungarian Theatres (House of Arts, Kisvárda, Hungary) - Füst Milán: THE UNHAPPY ONES (d. Albu István)
● Drama Festival (Tomcsa Sándor Theatre, Odorheiu Secuiesc) - Tamás Boglár–Tamás Gyopár: SURE
2019
● National Theatre Festival - NTF (National Theatre, Bucharest)
- A. P. Chekhov: THREE SISTERS (d. Albu István)
● Kisvárda Festival of Hungarian Theatres (House of Arts, Kisvárda,
Hungary) - A. P. Chekhov: THREE SISTERS (d. Albu István)
● Saint
George's Days (Tamási Áron Theatre, Sfântu Gheorghe) - A. P. Chekhov: THREE SISTERS (d. Albu István)
● MOST FEST (Jászai Mari Theatre,
Tatabánya, Hungary) - Based on work of Kubiszyn Viktor JOURNAL OF DRUG (d.
Faragó Zénó)
2018
● Interetnical Theatre Festival
– IFESZT (Tomcsa Sándor Theatre, Odorheiu Secuiesc) - Based on work of Kubiszyn
Viktor JOURNAL OF DRUG (d. Faragó Zénó)
● Interetnical Theatre Festival
– IFESZT (Tomcsa Sándor Theatre, Odorheiu Secuiesc) - Marius von Mayenburg: MARTYR
(d. Keresztes Attila)
● TRANZIT FEST (House of Culture,
Satu Mare) - Marius von Mayenburg: MARTYR (d. Keresztes Attila)
● International Theatre Festival
(Youth Theatre, Piatra Neamț)
- Elise Wilk: COLD (d. Leta Popescu)
● Drama Festival (Tomcsa Sándor Theatre, Odorheiu Secuiesc) - Elise Wilk: COLD
(d. Leta Popescu)
● Summer Festival – Gyula
Castle Theatre, Erkel Ferenc House of Culture (Gyula, Hungary) - Ion Luca
Caragiale: A STORMY NIGHT (d. Albu István)
● Tusványos (Băile Tușnad) - S-ELECTED (d. Dávid A. Péter)
● Double Rise (Rimetea) - S-ELECTED
(d. Dávid A. Péter), Based on work of Kubiszyn Viktor JOURNAL OF DRUG (d.
Faragó Zénó)
● Kisvárda Festival of Hungarian Theatres (House of Arts, Kisvárda,
Hungary) - Racine: PHAEDRA (d. Albu István)
2017
● D-butan-T Festival (Tamási
Áron Theatre, Sfântu Gheorghe) - Based on Puskin ONEGIN (d. Nagy Botond)
● Hungarian Theatre Festival
(Sică Alexandrescu Theatre, Brașov) - Ion Luca Caragiale: A STORMY NIGHT (d. Albu István)
● Tusványos (Băile Tușnad) - Marie Jones: STONES IN HIS POCKETS
(d. Csuja László)
● Kárpát-Fest (Tuzsér, Hungary) -
Marie Jones: STONES IN HIS POCKETS (d. Csuja László)
● Double Rise (Rimetea) -
Elise Wilk: COLD (d. Leta Popescu), Marie Jones: STONES IN HIS POCKETS (d. Csuja
László)
● Barn Theatre Days (Călugăreni)
- Marie Jones: STONES IN HIS POCKETS (d. Csuja László)
● Kisvárda Festival of Hungarian Theatres (House of Arts, Kisvárda,
Hungary) - Based on Puskin ONEGIN (d. Nagy Botond)
● Saint
George's Days (Háromszék Dance Studio, Sfântu Gheorghe) - Theresia Walser - OUR FORESTS HAVEN’T BEEN THIS WILD IN FOREVER (d. Botos Bálint)
2016
● Interetnical Theatre Festival –
Northern Theatre, Harag György Company (Trade Unions’ House of Culture, Satu
Mare) - Ion Luca Caragiale: A STORMY NIGHT (d. Albu István)
● Kisvárda Festival of Hungarian Theatres (House of Arts, Kisvárda,
Hungary) - Székely Csaba: SANDMONSTER (d. Nagy Botond)
2015
● Kisvárda Festival of Hungarian Theatres (House of Arts, Kisvárda,
Hungary) - David Harrower: KNIVES IN HANS (d. Barabás Árpád)
2014
● Kisvárda Festival of Hungarian Theatres (House of Arts, Kisvárda,
Hungary) - Nikolaj Kolyada: MURLIN MURLO (d. Barabás Árpád)
2013
● Kisvárda Festival of Hungarian Theatres (House of Arts, Kisvárda,
Hungary) - GOLDEN-FLY (d. Goda Gábor)
2012
● Kisvárda Festival of Hungarian Theatres (House of Arts, Kisvárda,
Hungary) - Peter Handke: THE HOUR WE KNEW NOTHING OF EACH OTHER (d.
Bozsik Yvette)
2011
● Kisvárda Festival of Hungarian Theatres (House of Arts, Kisvárda,
Hungary) - Carlo Goldoni: THE LIAR (d. Barabás Olga)