Textuality, Heritage, and Identity in Hungary: Contexts for the Interpretation of Szikszai’s Insertion in Macbeth (2018).

The present essay explores the textual politics and politicised textuality in Rémusz Szikszai’s Macbeth, which premiered in a public theatre, the Jászai Mari Theatre, Tatabánya, Hungary in 2018, then in 2019 moved to the Szkéné Theatre, Budapest. In the focus of this exploration is a textual insertion by the director which took the form of Duncan’s speech regarding changing the method of succession in Scotland. This insertion is analysed in light of interpretive traditions in the context of changes in Hungarian theatre culture since 1989, the relationship between the theatre and the state, and especially in the context of political tropes appearing in Shakespeare productions. Two conclusions will follow from the analysis with respect to the added text. The first of these is connected to the moderately liberal textual strategy of this insertion, which is responsible for the political orientation of the production. The second is the reconsideration of the gravity of the insertion appreciated in a larger historical context as well as in the particular context of the production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]