The articles in this issue take readers on a journey through four different yet interconnected areas: narrative theory, musical theatre history, theatre practice and theatre education. They share the need to approach the processes of reception and interpretation of art from deeper structures and practical experiences.
Csaba Szekeres’s article explores the interactive possibilities of film narrative. According to the author’s theory, the fractal nature of narrative is revealed through dilemma situations that create new dramaturgical patterns along the lines of the audience’s choices and branching storylines. The paper focuses on the mechanisms of interactive digital narrative (IDN), in particular the role of chance and choice in storytelling.
Hedvig Ujvári’s study examines Gustav Mahler’s work in Budapest as artistic director of the Royal Hungarian Opera House. It focuses on operetta premieres and their reception history, with a special emphasis on Offenbach’s reception and how these works fitted into Mahler’s repertoire-building strategy.
Domonkos Márk Kis’s case study presents the possibilities of acting theatre through the concept of the production In My Dreams, Déryné. The reinterpretation of historical travelling theatre was achieved through the means of movement-based physical theatre, using the Bral Acting Method, where the actor’s presence is not only a form but also a way of looking at things.
András Pataki’s essay proposes ways to improve theatre education in Hungary. Using the example of the British TIE groups, he formulates the need for a structured, age-specific Hungarian model, in which theatre can be not only an experience but also an educational tool.
This issue is therefore not only an academic inquiry, but also an invitation to a professional dialogue—on how we think about the future of theatre and narrative, and what tools can be used to redefine it.
Zsolt Antal
Editor-in-Chief
