Northern Theatre Harag György Company

Bélai Marcel graduated in 2023 from the Târgu Mures University of Art and Design, in the theatre directing department of the M.A. programme led by Bocsárdi László. The Cripple of Inishaam is his first official stone theatre production. The budding director's name was not unknown to the festival organizers: a year ago, he had written the exam performance Sweet Anna for the third-year acting students of the Hungarian Theatre Institute of the Faculty of Theatre and Film of the Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj, which brought the Mayor of Kisvárda's recognition to the young people.

The competition programme this year includes 17 performances, with productions by Transylvanian Hungarian theatres, as well as companies from Upper Hungary, Novi Sad and Transcarpathia. The performances were selected by Balogh Tibor, dramaturg, theatre critic and artistic advisor of the festival, who, in addition to the invitation to the festival, praised the production in his article entitled "Tin Rainbow" after the premiere in Satu Mare on 23 March:
“(...) Their presence is an essential part of the added value that makes the Satu Mare show stand out from the crowd. On the one hand, I feel the consistency of Bocsárdi László's work as a director trainer in Târgu Mures and, on the other hand, the actor's work in Satu Mare. I am greeted by an exotic soul, a psycho-arboretoum. Directing has a psychological effect where it belongs, under our consciousness.”

The festival takes place between 21 and 29 June, and performance will be screened on 26 June from 17.30 in the synagogue of Kisvárda. Below is the synopsis of the performance:
“The Cripple of Inishaam is the first and only Hungarian translation of the Isle of Aran trilogy by Martin

McDonagh, the world-famous Irish-born film director, playwright and screenwriter.

The story is set in 1930s Ireland, on a remote island. In the land of Inishmaan, news of the outside world - for example, that a man with a „strange moustache” has become head of state in Germany - rarely, if ever, reaches the land of Inishmaan. The handful of members of the community, isolated from the rest of the world, are manic figures. They drive each other mad with their endless, obsessive banter, yet their community is held together by a strange mutual affection that makes the grotesque world of the island intimate. It is this seemingly irresolvable contradiction that makes McDonagh's work a true black comedy.

Amongst the islanders teetering on the edge of existence, Billy Claven is the black sheep, the „cripple”, the eternal target, whose main „obsession” is hope and faith, perhaps too much so. Hope in a love that can never be repaid, and a stubborn belief that he is destined for more than being the island's downtrodden, lame fool.

One day Billy learns that an American film is being made on the island next door. He convinces the crew to take him to Hollywood, where he might one day become a famous movie star. But can he leave his homeland behind for good, where hope and faith only disturb the bizarre order of everyday life?”
Cast: Szabó János Szilárd, Budizsa Evelyn, Bogár Barbara, Kovács Nikolett, Nagy Csongor Zsolt, Gaál Gyula, Poszet Nándor, Nagy Orbán, Diószegi Attila

Director: Bélai Marcel guest, set design: Fornvald Gréti, costume: Lokodi Aletta guest, composer: Bakk-Dávid László, choreography: Szabó Franciska, dramaturge: Bessenyei Gedő István, assistant: Balogh Ádám, stage director: Fábry Zoltán, prompter: Simionaș Varga Anna.