Chain reaction

Please note, that the event is in Hungarian!

Chain Reaction, a play by Katalin Vajda, explores the circumstances surrounding the invention of the atomic bomb, placing the brilliant Hungarian physicist Leó Szilárd at its centre. Taking the form of an unconventional moral “trial”, it evokes one of the defining historical moments of the 20th century while also bringing to the stage scientists including Albert Einstein and Werner Heisenberg, whose decisions and discoveries fundamentally shaped the fate of humanity. Tense, intellectually engaging and thought-provoking, the play uses historical events to raise questions that remain relevant today.

Chain Reaction follows the great dramatic tradition of works that do more than simply tell a story: they confront opposing ideas and examine the contradictions behind human decisions. On stage, words, debate and the force of argument take centre stage.

“He did more than anyone to bring the bomb into existence – and fought harder than anyone against it.”

Directed by Zoltán Rátóti, the production centres on a dilemma that remains just as relevant today: is a scientist responsible for how their discoveries are used, or does that responsibility lie instead with political and social decision-makers? Chain Reaction offers no simple answers. The final verdict is left to the audience. Its aim is not to take sides but to provoke reflection and to recognise that the relationship between science, power and human responsibility is not merely a closed chapter of the past, but one of the defining dilemmas of our present and future.

Despite the seriousness of its subject, audiences can expect an accessible, highly enjoyable and entertaining production featuring outstanding actors, including László Görög, László Szacsvay, Lajos Ottó Horváth, Kinga Katona, István Hirtling, Ádám Schnell, Ágnes Bertalan, Kati Zsurzs, Erika Pápai, Artúr Kálid and Dávid Szatory.

Created to mark the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, with the joint support of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Hungarian Academy of Arts, as a production of Pesti Vigadó.

Cast:

Leó Szilárd, physicist: László Görög
Judge: Lajos Ottó Horváth
Defence counsel: Kinga Katona
Prosecutor: Dávid Szatory
Mother, Szilárd’s mother: Kati Zsurzs
Trude, Szilárd’s wife: Erika Pápai
Albert Einstein, physicist: Ádám Schnell
Werner Heisenberg, physicist: István Hirtling
General Leslie R. Groves: Artúr Kálid
Emil Kovács, pastor: László Szacsvay
Sylvia Elliot, journalist: Ágnes Bertalan
Girl: Júlia Lilla Horváth
Boy: Buda Buzádi

Playwright: Katalin Vajda
Set designer: Réka Pintér
Costume designer: Hajnal Tordai
Costume production: Márta Imréné Madarász
Stage manager: Szilvia Pintér
Composer: György Selmeczi
Prompter: Katalin Gróf
Assistant director: Péter Kernács
Director: Zoltán Rátóti