Travelers – this is the title of the third production by Hungarian director Árpád Schilling at the Youth Theatre. This time, the director brought together almost the entire theatre company to work on a performance that tells the story of theatre itself through the story of a community of creators. About its journey through time, generation after generation. About what connects individuals and what separates them. What disappears in the course of time, and what remains… The performance is created from improvisations based on singing. The chorus of all the actors will become a metaphor for a traveling community. The premiere of Travelers will symbolically culminate the Youth Theatre’s 60th anniversary season.
“We need something that unites us. More than fear and pride. Not the language, not the flag, not history. Something more than that. We can be united by the awareness that we exist for each other, that we are human… A choir in time and space. People engaged in conflicts of interests and values. The more there are interests, the fewer values. And vice versa. The chorus moves like a caravan. It moves forward, giving a sense to itself again and again. Because we must live. And we must sing. Why live if we cannot sing freely?” says Árpád Schilling.
According to Á. Schilling, “The initial idea for the title of the play – Consolation – expressed the search for hope in this world immersed in crisis. “When I started working with the actors, another perspective opened up. The method of creating this play is such that the actors create everything together: every day they take a step forward, every day they face a new idea, a new task, a new situation. When we asked them what this experience looked like for themselves, they replied: we are on a journey, we travel. This inspired the new name – Travelers. With this performance, I aim to emphasize the importance of a theater company, and that it is only alive if it is on a constant journey. Through different historical periods, different styles, topics, audiences… We all travel within ourselves, spiritually. We experience constant renewal. For me, traveling means the necessity to be reborn. Not to give up. We must constantly move and change to stay alive.”