Until February 2026, he will remain the director.

“With the support of the majority of factions in Budapest, Mayor Gergely Karácsony appointed Gábor Máté to direct the József Katona Theater for another five years on November 25, 2020. The award-winning actor and director Kossuth and Jászai Mari can occupy the position of director between February 1, 2021 and January 31, 2026 ”, reads the theater’s Facebook page.

Gábor Máté has directed the Katona József Theater since 2011.

“I am convinced that the theater cannot be vulnerable to politics. It is a matter of policy to finance the theater. That’s. Now that I am requesting the theater, I am not releasing my power, but the service, ”Máté wrote in his request, which can be read here.

Gábor Máté supported the protest of the acting students, but resigned as a university professor in early September. In relation to this, in an interview, when asked if it is possible to introduce Christian, national, Hungarian education in theater, film or television with words of power, he explained: “We practically did this. All Hungarian culture is nourished by the Jewish-Christian culture of the Western cultural circle. So the Christian is fired. The national absolute shot, like Hungarian literature, Hungarian dramatic literature, and history have always had a very strong place in education. And the more Hungarian we teach here, we always draw the students’ attention to things that affect or may affect those who have to do theater, cinema or other branches of art (…), I don’t know much more patriotic yet. Imagine. Maybe there is. Maybe it means a mustache or a laughingstock. If it is, then it is not new art. “

In 2009, it turned out that Péter Gothár was harassing his Soldier colleagues, and this case was used by the government as an excuse to reshape theatrical life, including the transformation of the SZFE and the change in theater funding. Currently, the Katona József Theater is maintained by the Municipality of Budapest. Gábor Máté admitted in an interview at the time that he had made a mistake handling the Gothár case. “It was legally due to my procedure for dealing with the situation. But now I see that it is humanly debatable. I think today I would do it differently, “he said.

Gábor Máté was not a challenger to the position of director of the Soldier.



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