György Szemadám and Gábor Benda: Human zoo

The evening will feature György Szemadám and Gábor Benda’s tragicomedy in two acts (dedicated to the memory of the late Zoltán Bély, Sándor Huszár and Ferenc Keresztúri). Following the screening, György Szemadám will invite the cast of the film to take part in a panel discussion.

A fatal camel bite – this astonishing yet true event forms the basis of Gábor Benda and György Szemadám’s audio drama Human zoo. Interwoven with grotesque humour, the story explores the imagined events leading up to a tragic accident in 1972, while offering a sensitive and profound portrayal of the world and characters of Budapest Zoo in the 1970s. One of the authors, who worked at the institution for years as a keeper of predatory animals, draws on his own experiences to present the people who lived on either side of the bars yet found themselves similarly confined by social divisions and the wounds of the past.

Human zoo is both a recollection and a portrait of an era: a harrowing and ironic story about the absurdities of the regime, as well as animals and people who are sometimes difficult to tell apart.

Beginning at 18:00 at the Imre Sinkovits Chamber Theatre, the audience will see a behind-the-scenes film documenting the recording of the audio production at Tom-Tom Studio. Personal yet societal, serious yet sarcastic, the production evokes a world that feels disconcertingly familiar – because Human zoo is, in fact, about us.

Written and directed by: Gábor Benda and György Szemadám
Assistant director: Péter Kubinszky
Sound engineer: Tamás Kurina
Cinematographers: Tamás Borbás and Péter Szalay

Cast:
Narrator: Balázs Lázár
Uncle Géza: István Vadász
Győző: László Szotyory
Uncle Bodó and Levin: Zoltán Fábián
The Director-General and Comrade Halász: György Szemadám
Bangyi and Head Keeper Laborcz: Kálmán Fábián
The Old Man: Károly Jancsik
Popeye: Waszlavik Gazember
Chief Veterinarian Liska: Zoltán Szlabey
Uncle Retek: Károly Jancsik
Composer: Gábor Benda
Piano: Gábor Benda
Bass guitar: József Horváth Plútó

Please note: The performance is recommended for audiences aged 14 and over and it is in Hungarian!