William Shakespeare

Richard III

A production of Manna and Zsámbéki Színházi Bázis

What do we do when somebody comes up to us, and tells us he will make order in this chaotic, incomprehensible world? He will do it – he will do it instead of us –, if there is nothing lef to do, he will get on the road and never turn back until he reaches his goal. We just have to watch how it is done. Because if God's fury doesn't hit him – after savagely butchering friends, family members –, then why wouldn't he question God's existence in the first place?  

At my final exam, in Harul Baptist Church in Tg. Mureş, I have already based my version of Richard III  on the idea that the main source of tension in the play is the conflict between the main character and God. This is why I thought it was necessary to play it under the half-built cupola of a church, and this is why, this time, I have chosen the breathtaking ruin church of  Zsámbék. I feel that the ruins bear the message of ruined human relationships, but also of the past, collective or personal faith or faithlessness that we have to face, and on the ruins of which there is still hope of rebuilding. Through Shakespeare's work, we wish to give account of basic and recurrent questions of Hungarian, Central European people – faith, personality and power.

Ádám Burák has finished his studies this april, earning an MA degree in theatre directing at East15 Acting School, University of Essex. He is currently directing a chamber version of Shakespeare's Hamlet in London.