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How WE MADE THE HUNGARIAN VERSION OF SAMUEL BECKETT’S ALL THAT FALL 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 1° Jiri Horèiéka (1927-2007), director at the Czechslovak Radio. Lajos Hársing (1925-2000), translator, script editor. 13 Géza Varga (1921-2004), one of the best directors of radio drama, from 1958 onwards. 4 "The full cast of the first Hungarian All That Fall was the following: Mrs. Rooney — Maria Sulyok; Mr Rooney — Tamas Major; Christy — László György; Mr Tyler — Samu Balazs; Mr Slocum — Sandor Pethes; Tommy — Laszlé Sink6; Mr Barrell — István Egri; Miss Fitt — Eva Vas; Jerry — Zoltan Zeitler. «133 +
