The Gergely Csiky Theatre is a theatre in
Kaposvár
Kaposvár (; also known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in southwestern Hungary, south of Lake Balaton. It is one of the leading cities of Transdanubia, the capital of Somogy County, and the seat of the Kaposvár District and th ...
,
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
. Opening in 1911, the theatre became a major cultural center in
Somogy County
Somogy (, ; ; , ) is an administrative county (Counties of Hungary, comitatus or ''vármegye'') in present Hungary, and also in the former Kingdom of Hungary.
Somogy County lies in south-western Hungary, on the border with Croatia's Koprivnica- ...
, with its company achieving their greatest successes between 1970–1985.
The building
Designed by the well-known
Ede Magyar and József Stahl, and named after 19th century dramatist
Gregor Csiky, the theatre was opened in 1911 in the former Búza square of Kaposvár, as the city's first theatre. With its unique semi-cylindrical sides and distinct roofing it is regarded as an outstanding architectural achievement of its time. It was originally planned with a capacity of 1400, but with modifications, this number shrank to 860. Despite this, the theatre is one of the major such institutions in the country. The structure was Hungary's first to utilize
ferro-concrete
Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low ultimate tensile strength, tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having ...
roofing. It saw two major renovations, first in the fifties, extending the stage area, and another during the eighties, this time fully renewing the building, and upgrading its technical apparatus. The park surrounding the theatre is a favoured public place.
The company
Premiering in 1911 with the operetta Cigánybáró, the company of the Csiky Gergely Theatre employed several outstanding actors, achieving the greatest success during the lead of István Komor, Gábor Zsámbéky, and later László Babarczy from the beginning of the 1970s. Several actors were asked to join the
National Theatre of Budapest during its renewal in 1978, but many of them quit in 1982 to form the
Katona József Theatre. After reassembling the cast under the lead of László Babarczy, the success continued, and the company won all three awards of the 1982
Belgrade International Theatre Festival with the play Marat halála. Notable actors who played in the company include
Juli Básti, Eszter Csákányi,
Gábor Máté,
Róbert Koltai
Róbert Koltai (born 16 December 1943) is a Hungarian actor, film director and screenwriter. He has appeared in over 90 films since 1967. He appeared in the 1976 film ''Man Without a Name (1976 film), Man Without a Name'', which was entered in ...
,
János Kulka, and
Judit Pogány.
External links
Official website of the Csiky Gergely TheatreRepertory on Port.hu
Sources
* Mihály, Gábor. A Kaposvár jelenség. Múzsák Közművelődési Kiadó: Budapest, 1984.
Csiky Gergely Theatre in the Hungarian Theatrical Lexicon
(György, Székely. Magyar Színházmuvészeti Lexikon. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1994. ), freely available on mek.oszk.hu
Buildings and structures in Kaposvár
Theatres in Hungary
Tourist attractions in Somogy County
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