Hungarian Theatre Festival returns to Bucharest this fall

BUKFESZT, the Festival of Hungarian Theatres in Romania, will return to Bucharest for its fifth edition from September 28 to October 6. All performances will have Romanian subtitles and will be staged at the I.L. Caragiale National Theatre, Odeon Theatre, and Bulandra Theatre.

The festival will bring together theatres and companies from Cluj-Napoca, Târgu Mureș, Sfântu Gheorghe, Oradea, Miercurea Ciuc, Satu Mare, Timișoara, Târgu Secuiesc, Odorheiu Secuiesc, and Gheorgheni.

The program opens on September 28 at Odeon Theatre with I Wanted to Revolt with You (Voiam să mă revolt cu voi) by Bódi Attila, directed by Sebestyén Aba, followed by Ferenc Molnár’s Liliom, directed by Albu István.

Among the classic works featured are Eugène Ionesco’s The Bald Soprano (Cântăreața cheală), directed by Tompa Gábor; Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, directed by Tóth Tünde; and William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, staged by Stefano Tè.

The selection also includes Luceafărul by Mihai Eminescu, directed by Ciprian Huțanu; Ferdinand von Schirach’s Terror; Radu Afrim’s The Community – Eco-Romance; and a dance production of Dirty Dancing choreographed by Eryk Makohon.

Contemporary productions include Kész Orsolya’s The Lives of Others, directed by David Schwartz; donjuan, based on works by Max Frisch and Molière; and The Future President of Romania, based on a text by Radu Popescu.

The festival will close on October 6 at the Bucharest National Theatre with Jon Fosse’s I Am the Wind, directed by Tompa Gábor and performed by the Hungarian State Theatre of Cluj.

BUKFESZT is organized by MASZÍN, the Association of Hungarian Theatres in Romania, and UNITER, the Romanian Theatre Union. The festival was launched in 2022 and has since expanded across several Bucharest venues, presenting both classical and contemporary productions.