Index – Culture – Péter Trokán to Index: I am ashamed of my colleagues

How do you see the situation?

I am immensely ashamed of myself for my colleagues. I do not want to offend the hearing impaired, but there is a perceptible image in the Hungarian language of what is happening now: the dialogue of the deaf. We are talking about responsible artists who, I am forced to pronounce this word to make it a page, can be found on both sides. I am very ashamed that intellectuals, artists work in this situation in the way that the most pathetic politicians do. The profession has two professional representations, the Hungarian Theater Association and the Hungarian Theater Society, which do practically no substantial work but behave like the opposition and the ruling party in Parliament.

I mean?

They try to prove to each other that the other is not talented, unfit, so they lower each other to the level of worst politics. The habit of bad politicians is to throw mud, qualify, refuse, lie down. This is what politicians do if they think it is correct or convenient, but artists do not! The two professional organizations mentioned would have a lot to do with actors, theaters that function in a way that is good for everyone. Instead, both organizations worry about what makes the other dishonest, fraudulent, and inappropriate. Pathetic.

What do you think of the students?

The students who are going to protest are certainly right about something, but they are not sure they have the absolute truth. A demonstration is an indication of when many feel that they are not getting what they consider fair, fair. She was also asked about the Kossuth Prize-winning Element of Ragályi in this regard, and she answered the same as a university student giving a speech in front of Parliament: there is a lot to fix in the Performing Arts. In a civilized society, they then sit down to talk to each other and then negotiate.

Anyone entering that university is trying to love and respect their teachers. But these students were violated, their respect for their teachers was violated. I asked my daughters, who went there to see if their class teacher was dealing with politics, sites, ideologies while teaching at the university. My daughters clearly answered no. Children protesting at the university also respect their teachers, wanting to protect them from attacks. A true artist, a true master in a situation like this cannot do more than raise her hand and walk away from the line of fire because war is not her job. In my opinion, the battlefield is full of wounded, and on both sides there are those who exercise their power by immoral means. On both sides are those in the profession who have somehow been given a position or power and are constantly turning to politics for help, swinging their swords behind their back with political support. Has there been a time here where teachers, artists have gotten hurt, just because they saw the other side behind them, now comes revenge? Where does all this lead? Where did the world wars lead, other than the fact that nearly a hundred million people died? What happened after them? Nothing. The dead stayed there and everything had to start over. Why do the masses have to die to start something over? I do not understand.

You have already lived the times when politics had a voice in art …

Since the regime change, many artists have been seeking political support from all sides; I don’t know why, maybe due to some kind of impotence. So, of course, whether someone asks for this support or not, the politicians believe there and distribute the support as if it were rum to the soldiers before the battle. His language breaks into the profession, like Gyurcsány’s recent speech.

What could be the solution in the current situation?

I can say a word about the solution: respect. We are a profession, we practice a branch of art, that’s why we respect each other. I recently read an interview in which Gábor Máté was asked what he thinks about Károly Nemcsák’s role on the supervisory board. He could have said anything, he could have screamed snakes and frogs, but he didn’t. He replied that he knew Károly Nemcsák as a decent man. This was very good for me. I have a mania. Maybe it’s more my belief. We remember the three t’s of the Steel Age: we tolerate, we forbid, we support. I also have three ts of ideas on the track, perhaps including how this embarrassing situation should be resolved. My three tms are related to the following words: talent, honesty, tolerance. These three concepts have been a defining tradition of Hungarian theater for centuries. Whoever does not have any of these three concepts has no place in the profession. We must not forget this, whatever happens around us.