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THE SUITE
Duration: 85 minutes
English-language jazz-opera with Hungarian subtitles. Not recommended for audiences under 16.
Director Zoltán Balázs, in the footsteps of Peter Brook—who was the first to stage Themba’s masterpiece in Europe—promises a gradually unfolding, associative performance that defends the order of the irrational world through the power of humor and the absurd. The relevance of this work, rich in surreal elements, stems from a broad understanding of domestic violence and social division. The director’s vision, built on exceptional dramaturgy, creates the unique world of this jazz opera—based on the interplay of the characters that unfolds in detail—through content-form units formulated in a special way and verbal, vocal, acoustic, and visual impulses manifested in creative combinations. Composer Adrián Kovács’s score, blending the Afro-jazz rhythms of marabi, mbaganga, and kwela with European and Hungarian sounds, organically underpins the disharmonious world envisioned by the writer and director.
The story of The Suit is set in Sophiatown, a neighborhood in Johannesburg that was destroyed by the apartheid regime in the 1950s. This powerful and tragic story explores themes of love, betrayal, revenge, dignity, and oppression, revealing the psychological effects of a system that denies its members humanity and freedom. The story, brought to life on a stage of shifting states and dynamic imagery, centers on Philemon (Barna Bányai Kelemen), the dutiful husband who catches his wife with a young man. Instead of confrontation and separation, he forces Matilda (Csilla Radnay) to treat the suit left behind by her lover (Ferenc Fehér) as a guest of honor, thereby fueling various forms of emotional abuse.
The theme and the complexity of the performance, built on subtle nuances, define the unique relationship between the text, music, movement, set design, costumes, and lighting design, giving it a message relevant even today.
It is a gem of South African literature, which has been translated into several languages and adapted in various forms, including an adaptation by Mothobi Mutloatse and Barney Simon at the legendary Market Theatre in Johannesburg in 1994, and later in 2004 at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in Paris, in a French translation by Peter Brook, Marie-Hélène Estienne, and Franck Krawczyk. The jazz-opera version of The Suit, performed in 2026, will be a world premiere.
CAST
Matilda: Csilla Radnay
Philemon: Barna Bányai Kelemen
K.K./A Suit: Ferenc Fehér
ORCHESTRA
piano: András Szép
guitar: Szabolcs Dörnyei/ Balázs Rodek
percussions, drums: Benedek Kárpáti
saxophone,flute: Balázs Rabóczki / Zsolt Magda
bass: Tamás Gyányi
CREATORS
Director: Zoltán Balázs
Libretto: Zoltán Balázs
Dramaturg: Zsolt Lukács
Consultant: Mothobi Mutloatse
Set designer: Zoltán Balázs
Scenist: János Katona-Koós
Costume designer: Daniella Sovány
Composer: Adrián Kovács
Music Director: András Szép
Adviser: Gábriel Gábor Farkas
Motion: Zoltán Balázs
Hungarian text: Léna Megyeri
Production Manager: Katalin Balázs, Szilvia Tomek-Hohner
Creative Producer: Sylvia Huszár
Executive Producers: Ferenc Karacs, Julianna Zagyva-Karacs
Opening Night:
26 June, 2026, METTRIN Arts Center, Bánk, Hungary
The Suit is presented by arrangement with DALRO (Pty) Limited, www.dalro.co.za
Produced by METTRIN Arts Center and the Maladype Theatre
The performance has been created in collaboration with the following partner: World Literature Classics Festival in Gyula, SzemlePlusz - Budapest Showcase
Supported by KIM, NKA-National Cultural Found (Hungary), Swing Jazz Culture Foundation, Tó Wellness Hotel*** Tó Hotel Kft., UNI-INVEST Kft, Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture (South Africa), Embassy of South Africa in Budapest.
METTRIN shuttle buses transport our guests to and from the venue.
Further information click here
