The outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic, the cease of the ZUG cultural space we founded, and the thorough transformation of the cast since our last premiere, have eliminated our repertoire over the years. We do not play our old performances because: a) the epidemic has interrupted our activities for a long time; b) ZUG ceased to exist and our company moved to the ZIZ studio, which is not suitable for accommodating our old performances due to its size; c) our last “big hall show” was Romania 100 at the end of January 2019, a tight three years ago, and since then two of our employed actresses have moved on. (In the lines above, I am thinking specifically of the ‘big hall performances’, which are characterized by the following: a public event in the studio, mainly for an adult, advertising-based, voluntary audience, so our shows for children and youth played on tours and outings are not included. We were able to present and play more of these despite the difficulties mentioned above.)
In the light of all this, it can be stated that December 18, 2021 was a long-awaited moment, as our team came up with a new, so called “big hall presentation”. These changes have required a lot of rethinking, and we’ve modified our company’s concept, so that we’re now trying to build from within, meaning we’re giving more space to the needs and artistic initiatives of creators within the team instead of realizing external projects that often fail. The first step of this idea was the performance entitled The Sixth Day, which was created based on the idea of the two youngest members of our company, Orsolya Veres and Hunor-József Varga.
The lecture is based on the sixth day of the biblical creation, that is the creation of man, but the story is just a distant starting point along which it speaks meaningfully about the relationship between a man and a woman who, despite being the first human couple in history, are quite average. The performance seeks this human quality as two young people find each other, discover themselves and each other, and then do something that will have a big impact on their entire lives and even the future of humanity. And in this, despite all the joy and play, there is something immeasurably sad.
The mise-en-scene and concept are by Hunor-József Varga, who, together with Orsolya Veres, is a member of the performance’s cast. Their work was assisted by Enikő Györgyjakab, movement coordinator, Zsófia Gábor, set and costume designer, and Júlia Sipos, technician. The rehearsal process consisted of several stages, so this period covers a longer period of time: in September 2021 the rehearsals began, during which the first movement materials were completed. The creators found it effective if the rehearsal period included several interruptions, breaks, so that the otherwise diverse and complex choreography, which forms the fabric of the performance could be “deepened”. In the period November-December 2021, the visuals of the performance was produced: a wood-covered 2.3 x 2.3 m revolving stage, an iron stand holding two circular trampolines, translucent silk curtains and several costumes, and so on. The result was a truly creative, entertaining, yet spectacular and profound performance.
The premiere was held on December 18, 2021, starting at 7 p.m., at our new headquarters in the ZIZ art and social area, and the second performance took place the next day, December 19th. On January 15-16, 2022, two new representations will be held. Although the number of places is limited due to the unfavorable epidemic that does not want to stop, there is a huge interest for the performance.
The production was supported by the Communitas Foundation and the UDMR, as well as by the Bethlen Gábor Alapkezelő Zrt. Thanks again!
