October 23rd | 20:30 – I.L. Caragiale National Theatre Bucharest, Ion Caramitru Hall (Big Hall)
Candels of truth is a drama about the faith in human character that that pays a moving and hopeful tribute to the trials of the the Sabbatarian Seklars of Bezidu Nou.
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By: Csaba Székely
Cast:
Kovács Márta: Erzsébet B. Fülöp
Kovács Sámuel, her son: Balázs Varga
Kovács Sára, her daughter: Bora Kiss
Kovács Mózes, husband: János Henn
Ráduly István, Catholic priest: László Zsolt Bartha
Demény Ferenc, teacher: Ernő Galló
Geréb Kálmán, mayor: István Nagy / Aba Sebestyén
Demeter György, priest: Csaba László
Demeter Éva, his wife: Dorottya Nagy
Demeter Gizella, his daughter: Ramóna Gecse
Kónya, gendarme: Gábor Tollas
Pintér, gendarme: Levente Ördög Miklós
Botskor Lóránt, captain: Oszkár Meszesi
Nikolaus Schröder, captian Gestapo: András Korpos
Bürger, prisoner: Zoltán Adorjáni Nagy
Rosenfeld, prisoner: Örs Bálint
Jewish person I: Viktória Renczés
Jewish person II: István Ferenczi H.
Jewish person III: Fruzsina Szabó
Gendarme I: Péter Kiss
Gendarme II: Norbert Kovács
Villagers, Jewish people: Zoltán Adorjáni Nagy, Hunor Balázs, Örs Bálint, István Ferenczi H., Roland Ádám Csiki, Eszter Kiss, Péter Kiss, Norbert Kovács, Janka Pintér, Jácinta Póra, Viktória Renczés, Máté Bátor Soós, Fruzsina Szabó, Orsolya Szilágyi, Csenge-Mária Timár
Musicians:
Contrabass: Márton Kostyák
Clarinets: István Makkai
Violin: Péter Sipos
Viola: Zsolt Leon
Percussion: Zoltán Málnási
Directed by: Aba Sebestyén
Stage design: Beáta Sós
Costumes: Rebeka Hatházi
Original music: Tibor Cári
Light design: Róbert Majoros
Producer: Târgu Mureș National Theatre – ”Tompa Miklós” Company
Duration: 3h (with intermission)
Recommended age: 12+
Performance in Hungarian with Romanian and English surtitles
At the beginning of the 1940’s, Bezidul Nou is seemingly still an island of tranquility as the most diverse religions, denominations, and worldviews get along through an exemplarily peaceful coexistence. A small Seklar community also lives here, one that follows Jewish customst since the Middle Ages. They are the Sabbatarians. During the second half of the 19th century, most of the converted to Judaism, and by the time our story begins they are Seklars with a Jewish religious identity. They coexist undisturbed by the rest of the village but when Transylvania is annexed to Hungary, the politics of Budapest suddenly break into their lives. From then on, ethnic origins and religious identity become a matter of life and death.
Csaba Székely’s Candles of Truth commemorates the ordeal of the people in Bezidul Nou. The author approaches this decidedly staggering the subject with profound empathy and his peculiar sense of humour. We are offered a glance into the existence of a community where everyone has always gotten along with each other except for those four years when the authorities violently intervened in their lives. The drama tells the story of those four years. The opening of the drama is directed by Aba Sebestyén alongside original music composed by Tibor Cári.
In 2024, the show Candles of Justice was awarded by the Romanian Theatre Union (UNITER) with the Prize for the Best Romanian Dramatic Text Staged in a World Premiere awarded to the author of the play, Csaba Székely, and the Prize for the Best Original Music and Sound Design awarded to Tibor Cári, the composer.
Photo: Sándor Bereczky
