Desdemona And Othello In The Training Ground
Szöveg: Andrea Kánya | 2009. július 7. 10:48The cast of ‘Othello’, soon to be premiered in Vígszínház (Comedy Theatre), has taken part in a very special adventure. Ms Enikõ Eszenyi, the directress of the theater and nine actors who will appear in the play participated in a three-day military training between 17 and 19 June 2009 in Szentendre, at the Central Training Base of the Hungarian Defence Forces.
The directress has asked for the help of the Hungarian Defence Forces and Major General János Isaszegi in the first place in staging the play Othello, directed by her. Maj.Gen. Isaszegi had already met directress Enikõ Eszenyi and the cast of Othello at the Szentendre military training base on 14 May. "General Isaszegi is a very experienced soldier, he has been to Afghanistan, Iraq, and he has also been the commander of a number of corps in several places all around the world. It was him who compiled the tasks of the training, but first he read Othello, of course, and put together a training for everyone that meets the requirements of the play. We had consultations, and in line with the cast – meaning who will play the lieutenant, the colonel, and so on – we have tried to model the various relations" – Enikõ Eszenyi told honvedelem.hu.
On 17 June, the actors – for instance Desdemona, that is Márta Béres, and Zsolt Nagy, that is Othello – occupied the quarters, underwent medical screening tests, and participated in a basic military training course. The following day they found themselves doing the morning physical exercise at 5.45 am, then went to a survival training in Csobánka, where they have learned the tricks of making a shelter and lighting a fire, among others. Finally it was time for the obstacle course and formal training where the ‘actor-privates’ learned various turns and salutations.
On the last day, the program began with some physical exercise at dawn – Minister of Defence Dr. Imre Szekeres also visited the group of actors during the training starting at 8.00 am. "The training does not only serve to improve the physical condition of the actors. Here they have a chance to collect motives, examine real soldiers and the system. Even the fact that here the actors wear military uniforms and get up early puts the play in a different light," explained Enikõ Eszenyi, who was invited by the minister on a short tour after the training: the actress was driven around the base in the off-road rally race car of Honvéd Dream Team Cheetahs.
Othello will be premiered in Vígszínház on 17 October.
