Hungarians and the Canadian Theatre the Case of Peter Hay

8/10/2019 Hungarians and the Canadian Theatre the Case of Peter Hay

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Hungarians and the Canadian Theatre: The Case of Peter HayPter Szaffk

University of Debrecen, Partiu Christian University, !radea

"P#ays are $ub#ished for a variety of reasons% &'ce$t in &ng#ish Canada (here,

genera##y s$eaking, $#ays are not $ub#ished) *Hay, "Preface) +% This is the beginning of thePreface to -eorge .yga/s Captives of the Faceless Drummer first $ub#ished in 0120 and

re$rinted in 0123 by Ta#onbooks% The author is Peter Hay, editor of Ta#on$#ays% 4nd a

draaturge% 4nd a trans#ator% 4nd a director% 4nd any other things %%% He (as born

Hungarian and has becoe one of the ost ardent s$okesen and activists of Canadian

theatre and Canadian draa in the 0125s% Current#y he is oving back to Canada fro the

United States of 4erica (here he ran t(o bookstores in 6os 4nge#es%

Background and Preparation

Peter Hay (as born to a 7e(ish fai#y as Pter 8a9oros on 1 ebruary 01;; in

n 8a9oros, (as a (riter (ho (as saved by a S(edish Schutz$assfro .au# ?a##enberg (hi#e his other (as in hiding% =n 8ay 01;+ his other et the

Hungarian $#ay(right -yu#a H>y (ho eventua##y arried hi and Pter becae ado$ted by

hi% Probab#y because of the tense $o#itica# situation fo##o(ing the Hungarian .evo#ution in

01+@, in 7anuary 01+2 Peter (as sent to &ng#and, (here his aterna# grand$arents had f#ed in

01A1% T(o (eeks #ater -yu#a H>y (as arrested and #ater tried for treason%

Peter (ent to &ng#ish boarding schoo#s and (on a scho#arshi$ to 8erton Co##ege,

!'ford, (here he first read c#assics and got a


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Peter Hay arrived in Canada in #ate 4ugust of the country/s centennia# year of 01@2

and started directing at SU ear#y Se$teber% =t (as there that he et avantFgarde director

7ohn 7u#iani, (ith (ho he (orked c#ose#y the fo##o(ing five years% 7u#iani cae fro

8ontrea# and he (as to becoe one of the ost inf#uentia# directors of the 0125s and G5s,

es$ecia##y (ith his Savage -od series e'$erient% 4## his $roductions (ere cha##enging,

controversia# andor $rovocative% 4t the university Hay (as in charge of a (eek#y oneFhoursho(, and a#so directed various $roductions such asAntigone, Coriolanusand other (orks% 4t

the tie, both 7u#iani and Hay (ere ore interested in c#assic (orks or in the &uro$ean avantF

garde (hich is not at a## sur$rising given the fact that visib#e Canadian draa hard#y e'isted

at a##, e'ce$t that the Eancouver P#ayhouse (as having great success in 01@2 (ith -eorge

.yga/s no( c#assic (ork The "cstasy of Rita #oeand soe &ric ico# coedies%

=n #ate 01@G Sion raser University becae the y/s The Horse, and started rehearsing his ost faous $#ayHave

BTiszazug, 01A; but cou#d not finish before being shut out of the theatre% ?hen the $#ay (as

sho(n in 011+ at the rederic ?ood Theatre of the University of


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?hi#e the $rinting of his father/s $#ay (as the resu#t of a current needK7u#iani (anted

to direct the (ork and it (as to be used as a reLuired reading for a draa courseKthe case of

Cra&dance(as a different story% Severa# onths after the successfu# $ub#ishing of Sions/s

$#ay, Hay (rote an artic#e entit#ed "Pub#ish and Perish) for the s$ring 0125 issue of the

bi#ingua# theatrica# agazine The *tage in Canada+La sc,ne au in Canada in (hich he

$rovides his criticis over Canadian $ub#ishing at #arge and describes his otivations to urgeand encourage draa $ub#ishing in the country% He argues that indigenous draa cannot

deve#o$ (ithout being $ub#ished but even the fact of $ub#ishing in itse#f ay not be enough%

He refers to the $ractice of the Canadian Theatre Centre $re$aring stenci##ed versions of

Canadian $#ay(rights/ scri$ts for the ebers% =n the #ong run, ho(ever, this venture (as

dooed to fai#ure because it

had to re#y on fu## subsidy, since scri$ts $roduced this (ay cost a good dea#, es$ecia##y

in huan #abour% 8oreover, a nuber of scri$ts that (ere not (ho##y (orth(i#e got

disseinated to kee$ u$ (ith the su$$#y of subsidy for this s$ecific $ur$ose% Soe

scri$ts (ere du$#icated not because they (ere good but because they (ere Canadian:

one of the surest (ays to $roduce a dec#ine in standards% *Hay, "Pub#ish and Perish) +

Then Hay describes his e'$eriences (ith the #ack of i$ortant (orks in $rint such as 7aes

.eaney/s The "aster "gg(hich (as avai#ab#e on#y in a "tattered anuscri$t) and had to be

rety$ed for $roduction *+% 4s a countere'a$#e, Hay re#ates that the chea$ version of the

$#ay Have(as Luite feasib#e because (hen it (as needed for 7u#iani/s $roduction, he got it

$rinted in 0+55 co$ies t(o thirds of (hich (as Luick#y so#d at the university%

The idea of $ub#ishing $#ays in con9unction (ith a $roduction cae fro Hay/s

$ersona# e'$erience (hen 7ean Ei#ar/s ThMtre ationa#e Po$u#aire had staged his fatherNs

!od' "mperor and %easant B=sten, cs>sz>r, $araszt, 01A3 a fe( years ear#ier in Paris and

4vignon, and had so#d tens of thousands of co$ies of the scri$t to a ca$tive audience% =t

seeed #ogica# that the best arketing of $#ays (as through the theatre, and this is (hy he

decided to go to Seatt#e to se##


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-eorge .yga/s e$ochFaking The "cstasy of Rita #oein the sae year *01@1Kbecae the

first of a #ong series of Canadian $#ays ost of (hich no( be#ong to the genera# canon of

Canadian draa% During the ten years he s$ent (ith Ta#onbooks, Hay edited ore than @5

$#ays inc#uding the a9or $#ays of -eorge .yga, Hersche# Hardin/s"s-er .i-e His /ife

Agilu- *012A, Sharon Po##ock/s /alsh *012A, 8ichae# Cook/s #aco&0s /a-e *012;, The

Factory La& Anthology *012;, .ick Sa#utin/s Les Canadiens *0122, David ennario/sbi#ingua# 1alconville *0121, David rench/s #itters *01G5, the first high#y successfu#

Canadian coedy as (e## as ha#f a dozen $#ays by Oubec $#ay(right 8iche# Treb#ay%

=n an essay on the history of Ta#onbooks, referring to the first t(o vo#ues $ub#ished

in the series, 8ichae# Hay(ard c#ais that "in retros$ect it can be seen that this initia# foray

into draa (as $erha$s the ost significant ove in the evo#ution of Ta#on/s editoria# $o#icy)

*Hay(ard 3A% 4#though the coo$eration bet(een Hay and the other staff ebers of the

$ub#ishing fir (as not idea#, there (as a gro(ing e$hasis on draa% ?hi#e in 0120 the

fifteen $ub#ished tit#es contained on#y one draa, in 012; seven of eighteen vo#ues (ere

$#ays *Hay(ard 3A% =n fact, the series (as soon to inc#ude internationa# draa tit#es: the first

(as


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ace#ess Druer is a dia#ectic of urban vio#ence not (hat has ha$$ened, but its #ogica#

e'tension in the future) *Preface 1% The


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Canada/s $rob#e, if there is one, is not (hether she has a cu#ture% .ather, given the

size of the country, its history, unhoogeneous $o$u#ation, (e can identify severa#

cu#tures% rench,


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#ives, history and e'$eriences in a (ay that is both re#evant and entertaining% %%% !ur

ob9ective is a Canadian theatre of and for $eo$#eKfreed of the dead#y $o#itica#

inf#uences of the inter#ocking cor$orate syste (hich has an interest in creating and

sustaining a certain cu#tura# c#iate in regions of their investent and enter$rise% *00

Une'$ected#y, Hay got a 9ob in the 4ttorneyF-enera#/s de$artent to set u$ $ub#icinforation $rogras through its ne( 7ustice Deve#o$ent Coission% =ronica##y, the

a$$ointent cae through a short $#ay he had (ritten% The $#ay (as ca##edA *ummer #o&

and one of the coissioners had seen it this (as a very &astern &uro$ean $#ay about the

secret $o#ice, but trans$osed to the .C8P and Canada% 4s Hay $ut it #ater: "y future

e$#oyer thought that if soebody (ith such antiFestab#ishent vie(s as = cou#d e'$#ain and

$ro$ose the ne( governentNs vie(s on atters of 9ustice and $o#icing, then it (ou#d have

ore credibi#ity than if soe $ub#ic re#ations fir did it) *Hay, "&ai# to the 4uthor)% or

t(o years he edited annua# re$orts and interna# ne(s$a$ers, organized ca$aigns, shot

training fi#s, and (hen the DP (as sudden#y defeated in 012+, he (as once again out of a

9ob%

Having no choice, Hay (ent back to free#ancing, ain#y for C


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Works Cited

Hay, Peter% "Canadian Content Discontent%) 8anuscri$t% o date%

FFF% "Canadian Rears%) &ai# to the 4uthor% 0G Se$teber 355A%

FFF% "4 Ouestion of Dis$arity%) Subitted to the Secretary of State during his eeting (ith

?est Coast artists, Eancouver,

Documents

Hungarians and the Canadian Theatre the Case of Peter Hay