Ungarn: Satantango

WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE 2025
Already famous as the inspiration for the filmmaker Béla Tarr’s six-hour masterpiece, Satantango is proof, as the spellbinding, bleak, and hauntingly beautiful book has it, that “the devil has all the good times.” The story of Satantango, spread over a couple of days of endless rain, focuses on the dozen remaining inhabitants of an unnamed isolated hamlet: failures stuck in the middle of nowhere. Schemes, crimes, infidelities, hopes of escape, and above all trust and its constant betrayal are Krasznahorkai’s meat. “At the center of Satantango,” George Szirtes has said, “is the eponymous drunken dance, referred to here sometimes as a tango and sometimes as a csardas. It takes place at the local inn where everyone is drunk. . . . Their world is rough and ready, lost somewhere between the comic and tragic, in one small insignificant corner of the cosmos. Theirs is the dance of death.” “You know,” Mrs. Schmidt, a pivotal character, tipsily confides, “dance is my one weakness.”

Autor:

László Krasznahorkai
Born in Gyula, Hungary, in 1954, László Krasznahorkai is celebrated for his dystopian and melancholic novels that delve deeply into human existence. Often described as postmodern, his work has earned him numerous distinctions, including the 2013 Best Translated Book Award in Fiction for Satantango, the 2019 National Book Award for Translated Literature, the 2015 Man Booker International Prize, and the 2024 Prix Formentor for lifetime achievement. László Krasznahorkai received the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature “for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art”. His writing, translated into over forty languages, has gained global acclaim. Several of his novels, including Satantango and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been adapted into acclaimed feature films directed by Béla Tarr, further extending the reach of his unique literary vision.

Darsteller:

VULGO Theatre
Attila Gönczy is a talented Hungarian actor residing in Hong Kong, and the visionary founder of both Aurelian Academy and VULGO Theatre. Established in 2023, VULGO Theatre is a Hong Kong-based company, dedicating to captivating audiences through performances that explore the depths of human emotion and creativity. Their shows invite viewers to immerse in unique stories, blending innovative staging with powerful acting.

Ort:

Wyndham Social
33 Wyndham St, Central