EVEN FARMERS PLAY SHAKESPEARE IN THIS COUNTRY!

Abstract

The District Hungarian People’s Theatre in Topolya, which operated for only ten years from 1949 to 1959, staged William Shakespeare’s Hamlet in its last season. This was the third Hungarian-language production of Shakespeare’s play in the Province after the premieres of The Taming of the Shrew (1953) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1955) in Subotica, and the first tragedy. For this company, made up of professional actors and amateurs, known for its varied programme and tour-based programming policy, which previously performed predominantly light plays, working with director István Lányi was a major challenge and a new form of expression. The production, with its unusual spatial organization and dramaturgical solutions, became a milestone in the history of Hungarian theatre in Vojvodina.