Comedy Theatre of Budapest, Art Nouveau theatre in District XIII, Budapest, Hungary
The Comedy Theatre of Budapest, known locally as Vígszínház, is an Art Nouveau theatre building on Szent István körút in District XIII designed by architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer. The interior includes several tiers of balconies, a large auditorium, and a main stage framed by elaborate stucco work, chandeliers, and gilded detailing.
The Vígszínház opened on 1 May 1896 with Mór Ditrói as first director, who brought a young company from Kolozsvár. It was built on former swampland in Lipótváros, financed by Count István Keglevich, Ferenc Szécsi and Gábor Faludi. A bomb hit the building on 16 January 1945, collapsing the roof; the company moved to the Rádius cinema. Nationalized in 1949, it reopened in 1951 as the People's Army Theatre and regained its name in 1961.
The Vígszínház opened on 1 May 1896 with Mór Jókai's play A Barangok, or the Voivode of Peonia, and became the cradle of modern Hungarian bourgeois drama. Its stage premiered Molnár Ferenc's Liliom (1909) and Bródy Sándor's A tanítónő (1908). Since 1967 the company has also run the Pesti Színház chamber theatre on Váci utca, opened with Gogol's Diary of a Madman starring Iván Darvas.
The building stands on Szent István körút along the grand boulevard and can be reached easily by public transport, with several tram and bus lines stopping nearby. Performances typically take place in the evening, and tickets can be booked online in advance to help secure preferred seating.
Pesti Színház, the company's chamber theatre at Váci utca 9 in District V, opened on 30 September 1967 with a dramatisation of Gogol's Diary of a Madman, directed by István Horvai with Iván Darvas in the title role. The building itself dates from 1840 and was designed by József Hild; it is protected as a national monument and was renovated in 2009.
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