Further Recognition for the Production of Richard III

The audience in Baia Mare rewarded the Satu Mare actors with a long standing ovation after the performance, and it seems the festival jury was equally impressed. At the award gala held on Sunday, July 22, Richard III won two awards out of four nominations.

The professional jury nominated Erika Márton for Best Set Design, István Albu for Best Direction, Zsolt Nagy Csongor for Best Actor, and the production itself for Best Performance of the festival.

At the gala, the last two nominations were converted into awards. Zsolt Nagy Csongor received the Best Actor award with visible emotion, along with the accompanying visual art piece, thanking the Baia Mare audience for the warm reception of the performance.

The Best Performance award was accepted by István Bessenyei Gedő, the company director and dramaturg of the production, on behalf of the creative team. He dedicated the award—attributing it to the outstanding collaborative work of the ensemble—to the memory of the company’s founding master, György Harag, born 100 years ago, who began his directing and artistic leadership career in Baia Mare in 1953, when, together with the founding actors, he established the Hungarian section of the Baia Mare State Theatre, which would eventually evolve into the company that now bears his name.

At the Atelier, held in the city famous for its world-renowned Baia Mare painting school, the awards were accompanied—fittingly—by works of local artists: the Best Performance ensemble award came with Adrian Prykop’s Unda apei (Wave of Water), while the Best Actor award included Hereș Alin’s Venice.

Interest in Richard III remains high, with invitations continuing to arrive from both within Romania and abroad. Next, at the end of August, the company will perform the UNITER-award-winning production in Constanța, the capital of Romania’s Black Sea coast, at the SEAS Festival. Tickets for the performance are already nearly sold out two months in advance.