Proton Theatre is an independent company based in Hungary. It was founded in 2009 and is operating according to the production concept shaped by Kornél Mundruczó (film and theatre director) and Dóra Büki (theatre producer). The virtual artistic group is organized around the director's independent productions.
History Mundruczó has worked in the theatre field since 2003. During his career, he has developed a unique working method, already put to use in 2007 with his piece Frankenstein-project at Bárka Theatre. This highly acclaimed work was to be the Proton Theatre's founding production. It convinced him of the need for a “base”, where he could work freely with his own company. Theatre producer Dóra Büki devised the organisation's operational structure to ensure the long runs of their performances. Thus, in 2009, the Proton Theatre was born.
Besides preserving maximum artistic freedom, their goal is to provide a professional framework for their independently produced theatre plays and projects.
Chiefly, their performances are realized as international co-productions, and their frequent collaborators include the Vienna Festival; HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin; Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Brussels; Trafó House of Contemporary Arts, Budapest; and HELLERAU, Dresden. Besides productions directed by the artistic leader – namely, The Ice (2006), Frankenstein-project (2007), Hard to be a God (2010), Disgrace (2012), Dementia (2013), Winterreise (2015), Imitation of life (2016), The Raft of the Medusa (2018) and Evolution (2019) – they wish to provide space for the realisation of the company members’ ideas. In this spirit, the following performances were created: Last (2014), directed by Roland Rába, 1 link (2015), directed by Gergely Bánki, and Finding Quincy by János Szemenyei.
Their co-producers are among the most prestigious festivals and theatres. On their first international co-production, Hard to be a God, the main co-producer was Kunstenfestivaldesarts, on their second, Disgrace, the Vienna Festival, on their third, Dementia, HAU Hebbel am Ufer, and Vienna Festival again on their fourth. Their constant partner in Hungary is Trafó House of Contemporary Arts.
Proton Theatre performances have toured more than 110 festivals over the years – from Festival d’Avignon and the Adelaide Festival to the Singapore International Festival of Arts, the Seoul Bo:m Festival, and the Zürcher Theater Spektakel. In 2017 their performance Imitation of life was nominated for the Faust Award for Mundruczó's outstanding directorial achievement. It was the first time in the history of this award that a non-German theatre was nominated.
Productions The Seven Deadly Sins/Motherland Kornél Mundruczó has paired his production of The Seven Deadly Sins with the drama Motherland, which explores the subjects of capitalist exploitation and the exercise of power in a family of the present day.The Seven Deadly Sins/Motherland, protontheatre.hu
DirectorPremiere16 July 2020 Theater Freiburg, FreiburgCo-production withAuthor/
Evolution Based on György Ligeti's Requiem the world premier of Kornél Mundruczó and Proton Theatre lies on the boundary of concert and theatre and analyses the theme of repetition.Evolution, protontheatre.hu
DirectorPremiere5 September 2019 Ruhrtriennale, BochumCo-production withAuthor,
Festival invitations Ruhrtriennale 2019. Bochum, Germany
The Raft of the Medusa
The Raft of the Medusa, an oratory by Hans Werner Henze, was inspired by Théodore Géricault's famous painting by the same name from 1819. Directed by Kornél Mundruczó, this installation of the Proton Theatre aimed to tell the story of The Raft of the Medusa – one that is universally valid and spans different eras – from a unique perspective.The Raft of the Medusa, protontheatre.hu
DirectorPremiere31 August 2018 Ruhrtriennale, BochumCo-production withAuthor
Festival invitations Ruhrtriennale 2018. Bochum, Germany
Finding Quincy DirectorPremiere16 December 2017Madách Theatre, BudapestFinding Quincy, protontheatre.huAuthor
Imitation of life DirectorPremiere27 April 2016Trafó House of Contemporary Arts, Budapest (World premiere)Co-production withAuthor
Festival invitationsImitation of life, protontheatre.hu Vienna Festival 2016. Vienna, Austria Theater Oberhausen 2016. Oberhausen, Germany Wiesbaden Biennale 2016. Wiesbaden, Germany HELLERAU - European Center for the Arts 2016. Dresden, Germany HAU Hebbel am Ufer 2016. Berlin, Germany NEXT Festival 2016. Lille, France Platonov Arts Festival 2017. Voronezh, Russia 17th National Theatre Festival 2017. Pécs, Hungary Festival Boulevard 2017. 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands Zürcher Theater Spektakel 2017. Zurich, Switzerland Baltic House Festival 2017. Saint Petersburg, Russia Sirenos Festival 2017. Vilnius, Lithuania Spring in Autumn 2017. Utrecht, The Netherlands Łaźnia Nowa Teatr 2017. Kraków, Poland TR Warszawa 2017. Warsaw, Poland dunaPart4 - Platform of Contemporary Hungarian Performing Arts 2017. Budapest, Hungary Lessingtage 2018. Thalia Theater, Hamburg, Germany MC93 Bobigny 2018. Bobigny, France Théâtre de Vidy 2018. Lausanne, Switzerland Maillon 2018. Strasbourg, France Alkantara Festival 2018. Lisbon, Portugal Athens Festival 2018. Athens, Greece Theaterfestival Basel 2018. Basel, Switzerland 26th International Festival Theatre 2018. Plzeň, Czech Republic CDN Orléans 2018. Orléans, France VIE Festival 2019. Bologna, Italy MESS International Theatre Festival 2019. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina FIT Festival 2019. Lugano, Switzerland
Award Best scenery: Márton Ágh - Hungarian Theatre Critics' Association Best writing and dramaturgy: Kata Wéber and Soma Boronkay - 17th National Theatre Festival 2017. Pécs, Hungary Best scenery: Márton Ágh - 17th National Theatre Festival 2017. Pécs, Hungary Audience Award - Baltic House Festival 2017. Saint Petersburg, Russia
Winterreise
DirectorPremiere3 October 2015Budapest Music CenterCo-production withAuthor
Festival invitationsWinterreise, protontheatre.hu "Fremd bin ich..." Classical Music Festival - Mousonturm 2017. Frankfurt am Main, Germany HAU Hebbel am Ufer 2017. Berlin, Germany HELLERAU - European Center for the Arts 2018. Dresden, Germany Wiener Festwochen 2018. Vienna, Austria Mittelfest 2018. Cividale del Friuli, Italy Maillon 2019. Strasbourg, France
1 link Since January 2019, the Katona József Theatre's "Sufni" (Shed) Studio has hosted the performance based on the award-winning cyber novel written under a pseudonym.
DirectorPremiere25 May 2015Trafó House of Contemporary Arts, Budapest (World premiere)Co-production withAuthor
Festival invitations1 link, protontheatre.hu National Theatre of Pécs 2016. Pécs, Hungary
Last DirectorPremiere11 September 2014Trafó House of Contemporary Arts, Budapest (World premiere)Co-production withAuthorPerformance text created by based on the company's improvisations
Festival invitationsLast, protontheatre.hu National Theatre of Pécs 2015. Pécs, Hungary Jászai Mari Theatre 2016. Tatabánya, Hungary National Theatre of Szeged 2017. Szeged, Hungary
Dementia DirectorPremiere15 October 2013Trafó House of Contemporary Arts, Budapest (World premiere)Co-production withAuthor,
Festival invitationsDementia, protontheatre.hu SPIELART Festival 2013. Munich, Germany Novart Festival 2013. Théâtre National de Bordeaux en Aquitaine, France HELLERAU - European Center for the Arts 2014. Dresden, Germany HAU Hebbel am Ufer 2014. Berlin, Germany Maria Matos Teatro Municipal 2014. Lisboa, Portugal Nová Dráma Festival 2014. Bratislava, Slovakia New Plays from Europe 2014. Mousonturm, Frankfurt am Main, Germany Noorderzon Performing Arts Festival 2014. Groningen, The Netherlands Festival De Keuze 2014. Rotterdamse Schouwburg, The Netherlands Baltic House Festival 2014. Saint Petersburg, Russia NET Festival 2014. Moscow, Russia Automne en Normandie 2014. Evreux, France NEXT Festival 2014. Lille, France Nervöse Systeme 2014. Schauspielhaus Zürich, Switzerland Lessingtage 2015. Thalia Theater, Hamburg, Germany dunaPart3 - Platform of Contemporary Hungarian Performing Arts 2015. Budapest, Hungary Singapore International Festival of Arts 2015. Singapore International Theatre Forum TEART 2016. Minsk, Belarus Theatre World Brno 2017. Czech Republic
Award Critics’ Award - Baltic House Festival 2014. Saint Petersburg, Russia
Disgrace DirectorPremiere17 May 2012Vienna Festival, ViennaCo-production withAuthor
Festival invitationsDisgrace, protontheatre.hu Vienna Festival 2012. Vienna, Austria KunstenFestivalDesArts 2012. Brussels, Belgium Malta Festival 2012. Poznan, Poland Festival d’Avignon 2012. France HAU Hebbel am Ufer 2012. Berlin, Germany Romaeuropa Festival 2012. Rome, Italy Hungarian Showcase 2013. Budapest, Hungary National Theatre of Pécs 2013. Pécs, Hungary 13th National Theatre Festival 2013. Pécs, Hungary Tampere Theatre Festival 2013. Finland Züricher Theater Spektakel 2013. Switzerland Maillon 2014. Strasbourg, France NEXT Festival 2015. Lille, France Mousonturm 2015. Frankfurt am Main, Germany 24th International Festival Theatre 2016. Plzeň, Czech Republic
Awards Best direction: Kornél Mundruczó - 13th National Theatre Festival 2013. Pécs, Hungary Best scenery: Márton Ágh - 13th National Theatre Festival 2013. Pécs, Hungary
Hard to be a God DirectorPremiere21 May 2010Kunsten Festival des Arts, Brussels (World premiere)Co-production withAuthor,
Festival invitationsHard to be a God, protontheatre.hu KunstenFestivalDesArts 2010. Brussels, Belgium Alkantara Festival 2010. Lisbon, Portugal Theater der Welt 2010. Essen, Germany Festival de Keuze 2010. Rotterdamse Schouwburg, The Netherlands Novart Festival 2010. Théâtre National de Bordeaux en Aquitaine, France dunaPart2 - Platform of Contemporary Hungarian Performing Arts 2011. Budapest, Hungary POT Festival 2011. Tallinn, Estonia Vienna Festival 2011. Vienna, Austria Malta Festival 2011. Poznan, Poland La Batie – Festival de Geneve 2011. Geneva, Switzerland La Filature 2011. Mulhouse, France Politics in Independent Theatre - HELLERAU 2011. Dresden, Germany Adelaide Festival 2012. Adelaide, Australia MESS International Theatre Festival 2012. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Arm und Reich Festival 2013. Schauspielhaus Zürich, Switzerland BITEF Festival 2013. Belgrade, Serbia Summer Festival 2020. Gyula, Hungary
Awards Price of the Federal Agency for Civic Education - 8th Politics in Independent Theatre; Staatsschauspiel Dresden 2011. HELLERAU, Germany International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC) award - MESS International Theatre Festival 2012. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina MESS Forum "Luka Pavlović" Award by Theatre Critics and Journalists - MESS International Theatre Festival 2012. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Special Mention of MESS Jury - MESS International Theatre Festival 2012. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Frankenstein-project
DirectorPremiere15 October 2007Bárka Theatre, Budapest (World premiere)Co-production withAuthor
Festival invitationsFrankenstein-project, protontheatre.hu Festival Premiéres 2008. Strasbourg, France 8th National Theatre Festival 2008. Pécs, Hungary New Plays from Europe 2008. Wiesbaden, Germany International Theatre Festival Divadelná Nitra 2008. Nitra, Slovakia Temps d’Images, La Ferme du Buisson 2008. Paris, France dunaPart - Platform of Contemporary Hungarian Performing Arts 2008. Budapest, Hungary Krakowskie Reminiscencje Teatralne 2009. Kraków, Poland KunstenFestivalDesArts 2009. Brussels, Belgium Vienna Festival 2009. Vienna, Austria Mladi Levi International Festival 2009. Ljubljana, Slovenia New Drama Action Festival 2009. Vilnius, Lithuania Homo Novus Festival 2009. Riga, Latvia Festival de Keuze 2009. Rotterdamse Schouwburg, The Netherlands Europӓische Kulturtage 2010. Karlsruhe, Germany BITEF Festival 2010. Belgrade, Serbia