Károly Kazimir’s Opening Speech before the Hungarian Premiere of Waiting for Godot (1965)

Abstract Samuel Beckett’s dramas arrived on the Hungarian stage relatively late: Waiting for Godot premiered in Budapest on 2 November 1965. Co-directed by Károly Kazimir and Péter Léner, it was the opening production of Thália Theatre’s new theatre space, Thália Studio. On the opening night of the first Godot , Károly Kazimir, walked up the stage before the play began and delivered a long speech with the title An Encounter With The Theatre of The Absurd . This masterpiece, which I call an apology, carries the imprint of the era in which the production was born. In a theatre-historical context his speech is highly relevant, as this vibrant example of double-talk throws light not only on the hardships which the first theatre to stage Beckett had to face, but also how skilfully, while walking on thin ice, Kazimir made the most of this situation to protect the production and his theatre.