Vámos László (szerk.): Dráma és tér. Magyar színházi és televíziós díszlet-jelmez 1979 - 1983. Műcsarnok 1983. április 8 - május 15. (Budapest, 1983)

exception of the few great theatres of the county, such as the Opera House, the National Theatre and the Víg Theatre, the other theatres did not come forth with a demand for individually designed stage sets and costumes. This need bacame general only after theatres had been nationalized and had economic stability.

It was at this time that a new generation of stage designers grew up in the workshops of the state theatres, among them Tivadar Márk. Mátyás Varga. Tibor Upor. Zoltán Fülöp. István Köpeczi Bócz or György Rajkai. It was during these years that the training of stage and costume designers was launched at college level.

The character of present day stage design in Hungary has been mainly determined by artists who were graduates of the College of Applied Arts and Crafts. Among them were Judit Schaffer. Marianne Wieber. Márta Jánoskuti. Nelly Vágó, Árpád Csányi. László Székely, Lajos Jánosa. Lóránt Kezdi, Judit Szekulesz and Barna Tóth showed their skill in works they made for the Hungarian Television. Miklós Fehér, trained as an artist and a teacher, later rendered his services to the theatre in the same way as stage designer Gábor Forray who had enjoyed a scholarship from the State Opera House.

Special mention must be made of the State Puppet Theatre where Iván Koós and Vera Bródy greatly contributed to the international recognition of the company.

The artists who started their career in these years had to surmount a number of obstacles. Not only was their work made more difficult by the persistence of literature-orientation in the theatres but they also had to confront the view that insisted on an "authentic" illusion and natural representation of reality, and was backed by the official cultural policy of the time.

It was not an easy fight but they succeeded in creating a particularly Hungarian complex and manyfolded theatre design that is now an organic and indispensable part of Hungary’s theatre culture.

Designers as artists involved in shaping space were naturally influenced by the fact that the majority of theatre companies use old buildings. They had to design stage sets for theatres in which technical facilities were rather limited. These narrow possibilities could only be expanded by vivid imagination. The lack of facilities were turned into a virtue, under such circumstances it was impossible to cover uncertain details by superficial gloss. Only conceptual, profound work could be expected to bring results.

It is possible that these circumstances and expectations created a feedback mechanism that brought about a style that used a rigid construction to provide a space in which acting was easy. These artists tried to cut passageways and adequate specas in order to provide this, and stage sets complied with the structure of the drama. The necessary mood and atmosphere was created by emphasizing the material used. This is why designers tend to look for new materials, plastic, mirrors which open or close various spaces.

In costume design the importance of the authenticity of costumes has been pushed into the background. Designers wish to characterise an individual by his or her costume. The selection of material also serves this purpose in the same way as the colour schemes, anachronistic colours, emphasize the intention of the director or analogous historical situations. From the mid-sixties to the end of the seventies there was no training for designers, new talents emerged all the same. Some of them had been trainde abroad, such as Agnes Gyarmathy and István Szlávik. others were captured by stage design from other professions such as architecture, or arts and crafts

The cooperation of artists of differing backgrounds in theatre design has supplemented the means of spectacle and space design. These factors have played an important role in losening the rigid constructivist and rational puritanical approach. Gyula Pauer, a sculptor turned stage designer, created the new mode of spectacle that also had a dramaturgical function. Growing demand however cannot be met without reinstating training at high level. This brough about the establishment of the department of scenic arts led by Gábor Szinte in the College of Fine Arts.

Hungarian theatre art and stage design is tied with strong bonds to the newest trends of the international theatre. The work of our designers and their exhibits at international shows have been awarded prestigious decorations at the Quadriennale in Prague where Judit Schaffer and then Iván Koós won a silver medal, respectively, and at Novi Sad where the collection of Hungarian stage sets and costumes won a similar award. However, the greatest acknowledgement for designers is the success of productions. The work of stage designers can be followed in the theatre life of the country the same way as the theatre culture of the country can be followed in this very exhibition.

István Csík theatre critic