Theatre for Christmas

With Christmas coming up, in case you were thinking of taking a loved one out, let’s see what English language theatre you can find in Budapest.

Contemporary Drama Festival, 28 November-7 December – Hungarian language performances with simultaneous English translation or subtitle. A bit early for Christmas but a great chance to see some fantastic performances and get to know some of the best Hungarian theatre makers. My personal favourites:
Revizor / The Government Inspector, 30 November (with English subtitle) – Gogol’s drama modernised, with lots of reference to current politics. Funny and heavy, directed by one of the best young director’s in Hungary, Viktor Bodó.
Bovary Emma / Emma Bovary, 4 December (with English subtitle) – a one-woman show by Emőke Kiss-Végh, based on French novels. Performed in a small showroom, you really get into her story, she keeps you hooked from the first minute to last.
E Föld Befogad, Avagy Számodra Hely / No Place For The Likes Of You, 5 December (with simultaneous English translation) – the director, János Mohácsi regularly speaks about important historic events (this time about Jews deported from Hungary in 1941) in a way which really touches your heart and mind, where you could be laughing and crying at the same time. His all time music composer, Márton Kovács helps to create a unique atmosphere.
A Csemegepultos Naplója / Diary Of The Guy At The Delicounter, 6 December (with simultaneous English translation) – a one-man show of the very talented Ötvös András, bringing cans and sausages alive. A young writer watching life from a market stall.
https://www.dramafestival.hu/program_2014/schedule

Performances at the Operettszínház / Operetta Theatre, Budapest – Musicals are shown with English subtitle, operettas with German – it’s all music, you probably don’t need to understand it all, anyway. Romeo and Juliet, Miss Saigon, A Christmas Carol, just to name a few of the shows on now.
https://www.operett.hu/operett.php?pid=schedule

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), Nemzeti Színház / National Theatre – performed by the Madhouse Company, three English actors, putting on stage Shakespeare’s all 37 plays under 2 hours (Hamlet squeezed into 20 seconds). On stage since 2001, extremely funny, kept fresh with current Hungarian references. Beware: the actors like to include the audience and even sitting in the back you might not be safe...
https://www.nemzetiszinhaz.hu/performances&list=actual&performance=38

Performances from around the world, screened in Uránia Filmszínház / Urania Film Theatre – as the name implies, this cinema looks more like a theatre, so it is the perfect place to make you feel like you are sitting in the National Theatre in London or in the Metropolitan in New York. The shows are live recordings of performances and are shown in English with English and/or Hungarian subtitles.
Mary Shelley: Frankenstein, 9 and 16 December – Directed by Danny Boyle, played by Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller. A unique feature of this staging is that Cumberbatch and Lee Miller alternate their roles of Frankenstein and the Creature. Spectacular show, great performances, a must see!
https://www.urania-nf.hu/en/theatre/frankenstein-by-mary-shelley
Christmas selection 2014, 21-31 December – Shows from all around the world, tickets for these could be great Christmas presents. You can see The Nutcracker from the Bolshoi Ballet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream from the Globe Theatre in London or the Magic Flute from the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
https://www.urania-nf.hu/christmas-selection-2014
Screenings from the Globe Theatre, London, throughout 2014-2015 – you can see Shakespeare’s plays such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry IV or the Merry Wives of Windsor performed at the Globe Theatre.
https://www.urania-nf.hu/theatre
Screenings from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, throughout 2014-2015 – a chance to see performances recorded at the Metropolitan like Ferenc Lehár: The Merry Widow, Jacques Offenbach: The Tales of Hoffmann or Béla Bartók: Bluebeard’s Castle.
https://www.urania-nf.hu/opera