Somorjai József szerk.: Komárom – Esztergom Megyei Múzeumok Közleményei 4. (Tata, 1991)

Irodalomtörténet - Pifkó Péter: A színházi élet kezdetei Esztergomban

The Beginings of Theatrical Life in Esztergom Péter Pifkó In the introductory part of the study the author presents the beginings of the Hungarian theatrical movement. After the preliminaries that cultural background is presented which received the first theatrical company in 1816. The reader can get acquainted with those schools, printing houses and inns which were active in Esztergom in the 18th century and at the begining of the 19th century, as well as with the facts how the Casino was established. It also deals with the outstanding personalities of the presented period. The study also presents the entertainments preceding the professional theatrical art. In the chapter presenting the theatre and the audience the author takes one after the other the authorities, the societies, the private persons who had any kind of connestion with the theatrical companies which visited Esztergom. We can read about the charity performances of the companies and we can have an insite in Gábor Baky's theatrical company's litigious documents from 1826. It presents those occasions when the theatrical companies were connected with the religious events from Esztergom. Gala performances and weddings are also presented. We can also get acquainted whit the habits of the audiance, and presenting this the author reveals the organisatory problems of the performances and how the performances were realised. In the light of the necessities of the audiance the study characterizes the types of companies and their programme policy. It gives a more detailed analyses of the companies that visited Esztergom for more times, and within this analyses it also presents the characteristics of the acting and in the first place Sándor Abday's activity who was a director. The study is based on a manysided source-material. 46