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Örkény István Theater, located in Budapest, Hungary was founded in 2004. Previously, its building gave place to Madách Studio Theater. Örkény defines itself as a repertory theater, featuring plays from antiquity to contemporary drama. The theater was named after István Örkény, a significant dramaturge and writer, often mentioned as "the master of Middle-European grotesque."

The Building
In the late 1920s, the Budapest Public Works Council (Hungarian: Fővárosi Közmunkák Tanácsa) advanced the development of “Erzsébet Boulevard”. The area attracted investors—thus, a design tender was proposed. Although none of the submitted projects were elected, the Council purchased the designs and—with the help of its own selected architect, Gyula Wälder —created a separate layout. The work began in 1937, but the building of the future Örkény Theater was only constructed in 1938. The Bauhaus-style building was originally intended to be used as a movie theater, designed by Gedeon Gerlóczy. However, the location proved to be perfectly suitable for Count István Károlyi, who planned to establish a theater in Budapest. Thus, Gerlóczy’s structural solutions were applied to a new theatrical construction.

In the following years, the building has been subject to minor internal changes. In 2018, however, the theater decided to conduct major transformations considering its interior design. The auditorium was rebuilt to create a more comfortable, acoustically pleasing space. The principal designer of the project was Krisztián Vincze and the interior designer was Krisztina Fülöp.

History
The newly constructed Madách Theater premiered with the comedy Kismadár by Zsigmond Móricz, on 29 November 1940. Andor Pünkösti was chosen to fulfil the position of theater manager. During his career, Pünkösti organized a permanent cast, including actors such as Zoltán Greguss and Zoltán Várkonyi. Since the theater was a private institution, the political turmoil of the early 1940s barely affected its production. Madách then operated in an en-suite system, staging plays repeatedly based on their success. One of these plays was Moliére’s Le Malade Imaginaire, which showcased the theater’s admiration and devotion towards classical literature. A politically significant moment occurred in the theater’s history in 1942: Néró, a play by Ferenc Felkai was put on stage and immediately stirred unrest. Other plays, such as Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Pirandello’s Henry IV also gained political significance in the first half of the 1940s. Each play was subject to heated criticism in the press where the critical articles created a political battlefield between the opposing sides. The theater’s last premiere took place on 14 January 1944, almost two months before the German occupation of Hungary. After the occupation, the theater closed and Pünkösti was terminated.

The theater managed to reopen a few months later and continued to operate under the management of Lajos Cselle. In the second half of the 1940s, other theater managers worked in the building, including Ödön Palasovszky and Ferenc Hont. In 1947, the theater was confiscated and thus, its name changed to State Madách Theater (Hungarian: Állami Madách Színház).

During the socialist era, Madách was moved to Izabella Square in 1951, the remaining building gave place to the State Village-Theater (Hungarian: Állami Faluszínház) for three years. The building was not used for theatrical productions, only for rehearsals. In 1954, the theater became a part of Madách Theater and was named Madách Studio Theater (Hungarian: Madách Kamaraszínház). Ottó Ádám was selected as theater manager. He contributed greatly to the development of contemporary Hungarian drama and cast renowned Hungarian actors and actresses, such as Margit Dajka, Klári Tolnay, Ferenc Bessenyei, László Mensáros and many more. In the 1950s and 1960s, many of his productions were deemed politically inadequate and consequently, were banned. In the following years, however, the gradually softening dictatorship allowed more and more plays to be staged. Ottó Ádám retired in 1989.

From the 2000s, the theater began a gradual separation from Madách Theater to become its own independent institution. Pál Mácsai was selected to consolidate this separation as theater manager. The renewed theatrical operation transformed its structure: it began to work in a repertory system. In 2004, the name of the theater was changed to Örkény István Theater and the process of independence continued until 2009.

Pál Mácsai is the current theater manager of Örkény István Theater.

Shakespeare Productions
Örkény Theater is well-known for its brave Shakespeare adaptations. For most of these productions, the theater utilizes new translations of Shakespearian plays, written by Ádám Nádasdy. These adaptations include Macbeth, Hamlet, King Henry IV Part 1 and Part 2, The Tempest, and Twelfth Night, or What You Will. Nádasdy uses modern but textually accurate language in his translations.

Örkény also experiments with staging Shakespeare in a contemporary, postdramatic manner. This is apparent in the play titled Kertész utcai Shaxpeare-mosó (English: Shaxpeare Car Wash in Kertész Street ) in which Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is rewritten and reinterpreted to reflect on the present-day Hungarian reality. The text of the play was written by Péter Závada, famous contemporary Hungarian author. The performance has won the award for the best Hungarian production of the year.

Örkény also offers performances with English surtitles. In 2019, this involved six plays: Shakespeare's Hamlet, Macbeth, Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, as well as two contemporary Hungarian plays, Diggerdriver and Ghetto Sheriff.

Theater in Education Program
In 2012, the theater created the educational program named Örkény IRAM, which is concerned with enmeshing education and art. According to Júlia Neubold, founder of Örkény IRAM: "our goal is to enhance the forum-like nature of theater." The program brings together artists and the audience, involving them in shared activities. Örkény IRAM follows the theater season, assembling workshops for each production. The programme aims to inspire the creativity of children and young adults alike, generate openness to the world of theater, and teach efficient teamwork. Many Hungarian schools take part in the activities of Örkény IRAM.

Besides Örkény IRAM, the theater has also organized a drama school named Kaptár.