Two more show dates: last orders at the theatre bar please!

After three shows with barely an empty seat each time, it's your last chance to catch us before this run ends.

Details: Wednesday, 10th of April and Friday, 12th of April at 7.30pm.

Tickets: 1450ft (advance), 1950ft (at the door).

If you do want to pay on the door then it is recommended you arrive half an hour early to make sure you can get a ticket!

More details and how to find the venue, MUSZI, click here: Details/Venue

Direct link for advance online ticket sales, click here: TICKETS

We hope to see you see us next week! All the best, Wayne

The English Department went hence!

The English Department went hence!
[Innen ment az Angolság!]

But they'll be back in just a couple of weeks!

We'll soon be announcing the dates of TWO final shows to take place in the second week of April. There may be other performances sometime in the future but who knows where... London, Debrecen, Veszprém?

Following on from our premiere...

Following on from our very successful sell-out premiere we will have two shows this week on Wednesday 6th & Thursday 7th of March!

Tickets available online at: www.tickets.DanubeEvents.com
1450ft advance or 1950ft at the door. Don't delay we sold out last time!

And to introduce the rest of our wonderful cast who haven't already been mentioned:

Nourrdine Hajhouj [Rob]
hails from Morocco and has been in Hungary for almost four years. He is a financial auditor and trainer in one of the biggest multinationals in Budapest. It's not numbers, though, but acting that claims his passion. He's no stranger to the stage having performed in many plays and stand-up comedy shows. Nour started speaking in public when he was 9 years old and hasn't stopped.

Owen Good [Neil]

moved to Budapest in 2011 in the aftermath of studying Hungarian and linguistics at university. He now lives the luxurious life of  an English teacher. He performed in a few productions at university and is keen to keep active, but feeling indifferent now about playing a Scotsman.

Madeleine Damasdi [Rachel, from 6th March...]

Born in Sweden, Madeleine came to Hungary in 1998. She studied at drama academy and is now MC for the Pandiciel Group’s variety shows, appearing in Hungary and Kosice. She appeared at the Dover Club in the Mad, Silly and Catty Show, and is currently playing Morgause in the BEAT Group’s production of King Arthur at the Atrium. Visit her blog: http://styleomad.blogspot.hu.

Bence Schwarcz [Ádam]

born and lives in Budapest. He is currently studying at the ÁVF Főiskola. This is his first time on stage and in English too! He enjoys travel, cycling, driving, airsoft and anything to do with nature.

more in our series of actor profiles...

András Urszán [János]

András experienced a love affair with the theatre in high school and college, with long-lasting effects. He has also lived in various European countries where he could indulge his other passions: foreign languages, local cultures, and people. While making a living now with people and languages, he is excited to “do theatre” again in his spare time.

FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY!! (Feb.20th) - Lena Kalisch [Rachel]

Born and raised in Germany, Lena discovered her passion for acting in early childhood and studied acting in Venezuela and Germany. After several years of travelling in Asia and the Middle East, she settled down in Budapest and is currently attending a yoga teacher’s training course.

Almost ready to go live!

A couple of pictures from the rehearsal before the dress rehearsal! Opening tomorrow, Wednesday 20th February. Show starts at 7.30pm.

The English Department (Mark Bubno, Nourddine Hajhouj, Owen Good).

2 of the Hungarian Department (Edina Nagy, András Urszán).

The American Department (Lena Kalisch).

After the opening we should have some decent photos of all the cast together, including Bence Schwarcz of the Hungarian Dept. and Ágota Uzsoki who's got a special department of her own! We'll keep you posted.

Introducing...

We have pleasure in introducing two great new local talents!

Edina Nagy [Fruzsi]

In spite of her sensitive nature and her interests in theatre and performing onstage, Edina focused more on a business career. Always open to starting over or trying out different roles and personalities, she has now set her sights on enjoying this special world of acting.

Ágota Uzsoki [Fruzsi's mother]

Ágota is a kindergarten teacher, born in Budapest. From the age of 3 until 28, she danced and did gymnastics, and she participated in movement theatre, dancing in the first private theater in Budapest. In addition to a wide array of interests, she has always dreamed of being an actress. Now that dream is coming true.

Taking advance bookings now!

Yes! We now have dates for our first few performances.We will have our world premiere (Ősbemutató) opening night on Wednesday 20th February 2013 at 7.30pm.

Tickets are now bookable in advance (1450ft) from Danube Events by clicking HERE.

From 1st February you can also buy advance tickets in person at the same price from the venue (MŰSZI), The Caledonia, Doblo Wine Bar and Treehugger Dan's too.

If you can't make the opening date or we sell out then we have definite dates two weeks later on Wed. 6th and Thurs. 7th March. Tickets are 1950ft at the door for all shows by the way.

We hope to see you at MŰSZI in a few weeks' time!

Behind the Scenes

Aha, fooled you perhaps! Maybe you were expecting to see behind actual scenery down at The English Department?

Just look at this image from our first physical rehearsal (back in December) with the cast at our venue, MŰSZI. No scenery, no stage, just raw space to play with...

Here are Mark [Matt/Mátyás] and Edina [Fruzsi] being guided by our glorious director, Patrick, in the Cemetery scene!


Maybe there'll be a peek at the scenery sometime in the next few weeks when it is actually taking shape?

Introducing our cast and our lead man

We are delighted to announce we have a multi-national cast acting in our show. Four different countries are represented and 62.5% of the roles are filled by Hungarians. This isn’t quite a super-majority but I believe it will be pleasing to the current political administration.

We will now introduce you to our lead actor:

Mark Bubno [Matt/Mátyás]

Though born and raised Hungarian, Mark’s affinity for miming accents quickly destabilized his national identity, and he started flocking with English-speaking non-Hungarians. His natural eccentricity drove him to theatre where he could benefit from his experience as a performing artist. Playing a schizophrenic is also not something completely new for him.

“(Ide jön...) az Angolság!”

[HU]

“(Ide jön...) az Angolság!” Ez a színdarab magyar címe. De a kérdésed: mi is pontosan ‘az angolság’?

Ebben a kontextusban a szót használom mint valami katasztrófavédelmi szolgálat: ‘tűzoltósag,’ ‘rendőrség.’

“Megerkezett a tűzoltóság, az Angolság is!” (Leüljen mindenki és teát igyon).

[EN]

“(Ide jön...) az Angolság!” - the Hungarian version of the title of the play. But the question is, what is this ‘Angolság’ concept all about? In this context I am using it as some kind of emergency service on patrol, on the basis of the ‘-ság/-ség’ ending. Like Fire Department (US English) ‘Tűzoltó-ság’ and Police Department (US Eng.) ‘Rendőr-ség.’

“The Fire Department have arrived, the English Department too!” (Everybody sits down and has a cup of tea).

The English title was originally “(Here comes...) the English Brigade!” as in ‘Fire Brigade’ (UK English). I did however discover after having finished writing the play that in Hungary this may have alluded to a play about football hooliganism so I decided to opt for an Americanisation. Of course ‘English Department’ could refer to a teaching faculty or a wave of migrants invading to teach English as a foreign language, (which nobody in this play does I might add; they have other ideas...)

A New Play!

Welcome to the blog for "(Here comes...) the English Department!" a new absurd comedy stageplay written by Wayne Brett, in English, with just a little Hungarian, a couple of utterances in French and one German word.

Set in Budapest in 2005, a year after Hungary joined the EU, we follow a group of three Brits who've all moved to the country for their own individual reasons.

The locals are welcoming, curious about the oddities and motives of the outsiders while proudly offering up their own angle on how it all is.

Deception, confusion and at some times euphoria ensue, especially when the missing gravy is found. Does anyone really know where they are going in this life? Look out for some tips from the top.

"(Here comes...) the English Department!" is due to world premiere at Műszi (http://muszi.org)  near Blaha Lújza tér in Budapest, later in February 2013. Details still to be finalised. Watch this space for the latest information!