Oldal 107 [107]
THE DRAMA OF INCOMPLETENESS
DECLARED TO BE COMPLETE
ENDRE MARTON: THE DEATH OF MARAT, 1966
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Title: The Persecution and Assassination of Jean Paul Marat as Performed by
the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction ofthe Marquis
de Sade. Date of Premiere: 4* February, 1966 (revived on 29'* September,
1972). Venue: 22 Nagymezö Street, Budapest. Director: Endre Marton. Author:
Peter Weiss. Composer: Hans-Martin Majewsky. Translator: Gäbor Görgey.
Choreographer: Károly Szigeti. Set designer: Mátyás Varga. Costume designer:
Nelly Vágó. Company: National Iheatre, Budapest. Actors: György Kálmán
(Jean-Paul Marat), Imre Sinkovits (Marguis de Sade), Noémi Apor (Simonne
Evrard), Hédi Váradi (Charlotte Corday), György Győrffy (Duperret), Vilmos
Izsóf (Jacgues Roux), László Versényi, János Rajz (Herald), Kornél Gelley
(Kokol), József Horváth (Polpoch), Gábor Agárdi (Cucurucu), Zsuzsa Zsolnay
(Rosignol), József Gáti (Monsieur Coulmier), Mária Sivó (Madame Coulmier),
Zsuzsa Mányai (Inmate 1), Vali Dániel (Inmate 2), Dalma Lelkes (Inmate 3),
László Csurka (Inmate 4), Gyula Szersén (Inmate 5), László Szacsvay (Inmate
6), István Pathó (Inmate 7), Sándor Siménfalvi (Inmate 8, Teacher), Katalin
Lázár (Inmate 9, Mother), Tibor Kun (Inmate 10, Father), Péter Blaskó (Inmate
11, Soldier), János Pásztor (Inmate 12, Nouveau riche), Károly Gyulay (Inmate
13), Attila Bánhidi (Inmate 14).
CONTEXT OF THE PERFORMANCE IN THEATRE CULTURE
Born at the time of Endre Marton’s greatest achievements as a director,
The Death of Marat was immediately declared to be of importance in
Hungarian theatre history. Less than 10 years after 1956, it raised the problem
of revolution (abstractly, of course), avoiding the possibility of reference to
recent events. The National Theatre sought to connect the production with
contemporary trends in world theatre: The Death of Marat was set on stage
in Budapest only two years after its world premiere at the Schiller Theater
in West Berlin. Peter Weiss’ play was popular both inside and outside the
Eastern Bloc, also staged in London by Peter Brook (no longer unknown to
Hungarians because of a guest performance of his King Lear), and published
in Hungarian in an anthology of modern German dramas at the same time
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