Welcome to Bárka!
Bárka is a small professional theatre located in the 8th district of the Hungarian capital, Budapest. With a company of 16 full-time actors, resident directors, designers and a staff of approx. 80 people the theatre maintains a wide repertoire of both classic and new plays and keeps on working to attract new audiences.Apart from this page, the rest of this site/blog is in Hungarian.
Contact us at noe@barka.hu with any enquiries.
We carry on uploading more info in English. Look for the english label below some of the entries.
NEW! Online ticketing is now available - no extra fees apply! Click here.
Bárka's new-born own festival, ÖRDÖGKATLAN is already in its third season, already entertaining a massive audience of cca 30'000 people. See their page for details.
WHAT'S ON
FATES - Párkák - by Borbála Szabó and Dániel Dinyés - A new children's opera based on greek mythology - sung entirely by the Bárka company, joined by some of the most prestigious concert musicians of Budapest. - starring Péter Telekes, Artúr Kálid, Adrienn Réti, Zoltán Seress and the Bárka company. - musical director and conducted by Dániel Dinyés - directed by Pál Göttinger.
HEAVY - Nehéz - by János Háy - A text-based piece of new Hungarian writing - through the story of a man coming up to the capital from the middle of nowhere to live a life, only to go home again to die - this strong compilation of monologues and short scenes tells about being a stranger and being alone. - guest starring Kati Lázár - starring Zoltán Mucsi, Béla Gados, Róbert Ilyés, Tibor Pásztor and Anikó Varga. - directed by László Bérczes.
JUSTICE - Igazság - by Kata Gyarmati and Kokan Mladenovic, based on Aristophanes' classic comedy 'Peace'. - Famous Serbian director Kokan Mladenovic brings his strong vision about the relation of power and misery to stage in this comedy. - guest starring Gábor Nagypál - starring Balázs Dévai, Béla Gados, Kriszta Szorcsik and the Bárka company. - directed by Kokan Mladenovic.
AUTUMN DREAM - Őszi álom - by Jon Fosse - In this intense vision of the Norwegian playwright, set in a churchyard, a man explores that 'nothing is long ago', and that those who gave us birth, lie here, and so will we. Time is insignificant. - guest starring Andrea Moldvai Kiss - starring Róbert Kardos, Anikó Varga, Olga Varjú, Béla Gados - directed by Máté Szabó.
HEAVY - Nehéz - by János Háy - A text-based piece of new Hungarian writing - through the story of a man coming up to the capital from the middle of nowhere to live a life, only to go home again to die - this strong compilation of monologues and short scenes tells about being a stranger and being alone. - guest starring Kati Lázár - starring Zoltán Mucsi, Béla Gados, Róbert Ilyés, Tibor Pásztor and Anikó Varga. - directed by László Bérczes.
JUSTICE - Igazság - by Kata Gyarmati and Kokan Mladenovic, based on Aristophanes' classic comedy 'Peace'. - Famous Serbian director Kokan Mladenovic brings his strong vision about the relation of power and misery to stage in this comedy. - guest starring Gábor Nagypál - starring Balázs Dévai, Béla Gados, Kriszta Szorcsik and the Bárka company. - directed by Kokan Mladenovic.
AUTUMN DREAM - Őszi álom - by Jon Fosse - In this intense vision of the Norwegian playwright, set in a churchyard, a man explores that 'nothing is long ago', and that those who gave us birth, lie here, and so will we. Time is insignificant. - guest starring Andrea Moldvai Kiss - starring Róbert Kardos, Anikó Varga, Olga Varjú, Béla Gados - directed by Máté Szabó.
NO ONE KNOWS HOW - Nem tudni, hogyan - by Luigi Pirandello - An uneasy fivesome - a dark and tense classic play about sins that are not even committed and secrets that shouldn't ever be told. - starring Zoltán Mucsi, Kriszta Szorcsik, Andrea Spolarics, Róbert Ilyés and Artúr Kálid. - director: László Bocsárdi
VICTORY - Győzelem - written by Howard Barker - a piece of epic political theatre in which a widow seeks her husband's body parts in the chaos of the Restoration in 1660. Strong language, history and a voyage into the and darkest depths of human nature. - starring Andrea Spolarics, Zoltán Seress and the Bárka company. - directed by Tim Carroll
33 VARIATONS ON HAYDN'S SKULL - Harminchárom változat Haydn-koponyára - a new play by Péter Esterházy - A playful and thought-provoking text by one of the few truly world-famous Hungarian writers, written exclusively for Bárka. Talking about music and creation, time and eternity - this show is for those looking for something delicate. A night with Haydn and Esterházy - with a lot of music. - guest starring Miklós Benedek, Kati Lázár - starring Róbert Ilyés, Artúr Kálid, Adrienn Réti and the Company - musical director Dániel Dinyés - movement Gábor Katona - directed by Pál Göttinger
DOGVILLE - a stage adaptation of Lars von Trier's film - set in a Budapest house, the story of the fugitive Angelika approaches the same question 'are these good peolpe?' from a different point of view. - guest starring Péter Blaskó and Ági Margittay - starring Kriszta Szorcsik, Balázs Dévai and the Company - directed by Zsolt Anger.
PIAF PIAF - a musical entertainment written and directed by Jorma Uotinen - This visionary show looks at the story of the singer Edith Piaf through the eyes of the world-famous director/coreographer Jorma Uotinen from Helsinki. A great ensemble-show brought to you by dancers and the Bárka Company. - guest starring Andrea Ladányi - starring Olga Varjú, Andrea Spolarics, Anikó Varga and the Company - musical direction Dániel Dinyés - directed by Jorma Uotinen
THE PARTY - Mulatság - a classic absurd play by Slawomir Mrozek - This multi-award-winning show is the longest run in Bárka's history. The Farmhands have come up with their need for a party more than 230 times in the past 10 years. - starring: Péter Scherer, Zoltán Mucsi, Rémusz Szikszai - directed by László Bérczes
THE SEAFARER - Tengeren - an Irish play by Conor McPherson, in a translation by László Upor - In this play set in a Dublin house at Christmas Eve, the Devil himself comes to play poker for our very souls. McPherson's play has been produced all around the world in the last few years - and it's in its second season at Bárka. - starring: Zoltán Mucsi, Róbert Ilyés, Artúr Kálid, Balázs Dévai, Béla Gados - directed by Pál Göttinger
QUILLS - De Sade pennája - an American play by Doug Wright, in a translation by László Upor - This dark and uneasy play re-imagines the last years of the Marquis' incarceration in the insane asylum at Charenton. - starring Zoltán Mucsi, Péter Telekes, Zoltán Seress and the Company. - directed by Máté Szabó.
ENCOUNTER/FUNERAL - Találkozás/Temetés - two short plays by Péter Nádas - An encounter of dancers, musicians and actors coreographed by one of the most interesting Hungarian artist of Hungarian movement theatre. - starring Andrea Spolarics, Anikó Varga, Olga Varjú, Tibor Pásztor, Gábor Szabó, Balázs Dévai - musical direction by György Philip - directed/coreographed by Krisztián Gergye
GYÖRGY VIDOVSZKY'S YOUTH PROGRAMME - A series of plays for young people, performed by young actors in association with the Bárka Company. Titles include SCHOOL AT THE FRONTIER by Géza Ottlik (Iskola a határon), THE AGE OF THE FISH by Ödön von Horváth (Istentelen ifjúság). The shows are often followed by open sessions with the director and the actors.
FABLEPUNT - MeseLadik - an interactive theatre experience for young children.
BÁRKA STÚDIÓ - in association with the actors' school of KIMI, Bárka helps the education of young actors by giving them space to perform their shows, under the artistic leadership of Andrea Spolarics.
CONTEMPORARY DANCE - BL - dancer and coreographer Andrea Ladányi presents her solo in association with drummer Gergely Borlai.
DRUM+BASS - Dob+Basszus - famous TV-presenter Balázs Lévai's live show of Hungarian popular music history, bringing the classics of Hungarian pop, rock and world music on to the stage.
FIRKIN CLUB - Once-in-a-month gigs of the Firkin band, with Celtic punk and drinks all around.
BARKA THEATRE - a brief introduction
“Theatrical knowledge we do not derive from ourselves.
For this reason Bárka cannot be built against something, our deed aiming at the establishment of the Theatre, is not a retreat or a separation, but, it seems, the increased attention and consideration towards the dimensions and magnitudes that enable encounters in the surrounded space.”
(András Visky - Hajonaplo, issue 0. 1996)
The theatre
Barka Theatre of Budapest was founded by the local government in 1996, the company began their work in the fall of 1997. Zoltan Seress, has been the leader of the Barka Theatre since March 2008.
Presently there are 80 people working in the theatre (Bárka means ark in Hungarian). The theatre has a permanent company of 14 - 16 actors. Barka Workshop (writers, directors, dramaturgs, editors, composers, designers, film directors…) also belongs to the artistic team. The rest belong to the administrative, technical as well as the service staff (secretaries, press and audience organisers, light and sound technicians, stage people, buffet workers…)
The building
Barka owns its premises, which is situated in a listed building once served as the fencing school for Ludovika, the famous Hungarian military school of the first part of the last century. The productions of the first season took place in this hall of 400 square metres, while over the second season the company rented rehearsal and playing venues so that the renovation and reconstruction of the building could take place. In September 1999 the new building of Barka opened consisting of four playing venues:
- “Fencing room” (220 seats)
- Studio (100 seats)
- Cafeteria (100 seats)
- Amphitheatre (400 seats).
Artistic concept
Barka is a professional house harbouring-utilizing the results of alternative theatre. Barka wishes to become a fresh, living, experimental theatre, but experimental with this many-thousand-year-old art not purely for the sake of appearance. Barka aims to reach unambiguousness. This is, first of all, the theatre of the youth, as the average age of the workers is between 30 and 35. The theatre program consists of the classics (Shakespeare, Checkhov, Pirandello…), but the theatre’s purpose, primarily to introduce Hungarian pieces as well as foreign dramas. This is why Barka Workshop has been created, where member writers can use the possibility to write their works for the actors of the company, and, should the need arise, they can further shape those over the rehearsal process (this working process summons the drama writing of the Shakespearean renaissance theatre as well as the team work of the film scripts).
Further artistic forums:
- Hajonaplo (theatre periodical published every second month),
- Hajonaplo Workshop (teaching criticism to the youth),
- Script writers workshop (forum of film directors - writers),
- Film club,
- Literary events,
- Exhibitions,
- Concerts, etc.
Barka is also a recipient theatre hosting significant Hungarian and foreign guest productions. At the beginning, this effort was assisted by the fact that the theatre did not have a full repertoire, and from the third season the many different playing venues and the suitable technical conditions of the new building ensure the reception of dignified guest productions.
