When I first suggested All That Fall to him (presenting the two positive
readers’ reports), he accepted at once in principle, with the surprising
comment: “The Czech comrades have already done it.” Yes, the Prague Spring;
and director Jiri Horëiéka! was one of the most recognized names in the
profession, the cautious party-soldier with the fig-leaf But more of the same
followed: the worrying-watchful party-soldier prescribed that the translation
be made from the French writer, Robert Pinget’s Tous ceux qui tombent. As he
knew some French, he thought maybe he would be able to check the reliability
of the translation. He proposed Lajos Harsing,’” who signed the contract, did
the job, and was paid. I did not know that Beckett had been unhappy about
Pinget’s text, but I was unhappy with what I received myself, so 1 borrowed
both texts from the Ervin Szabé Library, checked Harsing’s translation
against the original French, made a number of corrections, and then replaced
weaker sentences with ones from Beckett’s English original, which no one
objected to. The text Elesettek (All That Fall) passed the Drama Council with
flying colors: “The Czech comrades have already done it,” and some of the
members probably appreciated the quality too.
Assistant Head Director, Géza Varga was chosen for the production:'?
not an erudite man, but a dreamer of creating ideal sounds. At the first
run-through rehearsal he told the actors some maladroit sentences and me
some well-informed ones — both irrelevant. What the play reguired was the
relevance of the actors. And Varga, now a dreamer of voices, ideal actors and
actresses, rallied a cast I must introduce, trying to illustrate the greatness of at
least the two protagonists. Maria Sulyok (1908-1987) received the role of Mrs
Rooney: the grande dame of Hungarian theatre, hilarious in Ferenc Molnar’s
comedies, breathtaking in Greek tragedies, in Istvan Orkény’s plays — the
heart and soul of our country, with a special dignity, elegance, and a faultless
proficiency in German. Among her most memorable roles as an actress
were Gertrude, Claire Zachanassian, Philomena, Hecuba and Mrs Orban.
Mr Rooney’s part was given to Tamas Major (1910-1986), a tall, gaunt, bald
actor, the image of “the Machiavellian villain.” He had an irresistible sense
of humor and a strong intellect: the essence of the twentieth century Eastern
European cunning, in roles such as Richard III, King Lear, Shylock, Volpone,
Tartuffe, and Mr Puntila."
Performing Beckett reguires of the actor no special effect (Brechtian
alienation or other), no extra cock-a-doodling. Of course the anecdotal