Kerényi Ferenc szerk.: Színháztudományi Szemle 27. (Budapest, 1990)

IDEGEN NYELVŰ ÖSSZEFOGLALÓK

continued. German theatrical agencies contracted the play for 31 theatres in German-speaking countries. In 1943 it was produced in Hamburg. The writer of this essay attempts to explain this extraordinary success, both among the critics and with the audience. He finds that, by placing doctors in the centre of the plot and choosing the pattern of the triangle (or rather pentagon) as a background, Márai responded to the expectations of the audience which considered conflicts of 'well-made-plays' as representing important contradictions in life. But Márai went back to Ibsen with his play; from the realistic starting-point and portrayal of the atmosphere, the plot quite suddenly evolves in the direction of symbolic representation — actually, the play is about the great adventure of life and death. Instead of poetic stage diction, the play's contents is enhanced by the confined, oppressive atmosphere, the excitement arising from the constant confrontation of possibility and reality, and the extremely tight structure. The dialogue is far more important than the plot (in fact, Actll is one single huge dialogue in itself). Together with the conflict between vocation and financial success there are several other clashes, those of understanding, representation, belief in one's mission in life, and moral courage. Not only the doctor's life is limited by these conflicts but all the other dramatis personae suffer from them. The characters take an examination and fail in front of the 'inward judge' as well. According to Márai, the illness of the soul generated by these conflicts is manifested by the illness of the body, while people's lives perish in banality. TAMÁS GAJDÓ: SÁNDOR HEVESrS CORRESPONDENCE WITH FERENC HERCZEG 22 letters in the Archives of the Hungarian Theatre Institute and of the National Széchényi Library give evidence of the connection between the writer Ferenc Herczeg and the theatrical director Sándor Hevesi. Before World War II, Ferenc Herczeg was considered to be the leading writer of the genteel middle-class, a typically Hungarian social layer. Most of his dramas were produced and played at the Nemzeti Színház (National Theatre). Herczeg was in his glory exacüy during Sándor Hevesi's management of this theatre (1922—32). Several of Herczeg's new plays were staged at that time and some of the earlier ones were re-staged too. The greatest honour, given only to geniuses like Shakespeare or Molière, was paid to Herczeg: the widely known and respected Hevesi directed a whole cycle of his most famous plays. But the relationship between them was not confined to their common theatrical work. Herczeg had great regard for Hevesi's theoretical and practical knowledge of the theatre, and he was the only person to support Hevesi even when the manager was dismissed from his post and everybody else deserted him.