ELEKTRA AT THE PRAGUE NEW COMEDY INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL

The New Comedy (Nová komedie) International Theatre Festival 2024 will take place for the third time in the Czech capital between April 5-12, 2024, organized by the Prague City Theatre. In addition to German, Polish and Slovak productions, the festival will also feature a performance of Elektra by the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj. The production, based on the tragedy of Sophocles and directed by Botond Nagy, will be performed at the Comedy Theatre (Divadlo Komedie) on April 12 at 7:30 pm. The text has been adapted by Ágnes Kali and Botond Nagy.

The production is also in the running for the Romanian Theatre Association's (UNITER) Best Direction and Best Lighting Design awards in 2024.

The first edition of the New Comedy International Theatre Festival was organized in March 2019, and in October 2021 an unconventional edition, New Comedy 1 and a Half Years, was held after most theatres were closed during the coronavirus pandemic. This event featured productions by drama students who had not had the opportunity to perform in public during the outbreak. The second edition was organized by the Prague City Theatre from 11 to 18 April 2023 and featured performances from Polish, Slovak and Czech theatres.

The theme of this year's festival is Identity, Revolution, Identity-Revolution, Self-identity, which reflects the state of mind of the modern individual. According to the festival's organisers, we live in an age where people feel threatened by wars, environmental crises, personal burnout and growing poverty. Yet people need to create and act to preserve their identity. We should not be afraid of a revolution, as it can be a means of creating and strengthening our new identity.

"All the members of the family, struggling in the grip of stifled and suffocating emotions, are excellently portrayed: Eszter Román as the silent, perhaps compromising sister, Chrysothemis; Tamás Kiss as Orestes, who has his mission, revenge in his cells, and recognizes his mission in his sister; Csilla Albert as a mature woman, full of love for those connected by blood, determined and resolute in assuming the task and burden of just revenge. Enikő Györgyjakab gives an excellent, natural and authentic portrayal of a woman willing to forget and give up the past for the present, of her motivations and her points of support. Aegisthus is a sharp contrast to this family foursome, Lóránd Váta again very accurately building the cowardly and petty figure who craves greatness. Róbert M. Kardos returns to Cluj-Napoca as the tutor of Orestes." - writes Márta Bodó about the performance.

The production is directed by Botond Nagy, with the collaboration of set and costume designer Dragoș Buhagiar, dramaturg Ágnes Kali and composer Claudiu Urse. The lighting design was created by Botond Nagy.

The lead role will be portrayed by Csilla Albert, with further roles to be played by Enikő Györgyjakab, Lóránd Váta, Tamás Kiss, Róbert Kardos M. and Eszter Román.