A Conversation around Shoddies with the Roma Theatre Retrospective on Monday 21 September 2020
Channel: HowlRound Theatre Commons
Date: 2020-09-21

Independent Theater Hungary presents a performance and conversation around Shoddies as part of the Roma Theatre Retrospective 2020 livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 21 September 2020 at 9 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 12 p.m. EDT (UTC -4) / 18:00 CEST (Budapest, UTC +2).

What are the general experiences about health care system? How embarrassing is it to just wait and wait when we are ill and vulnerable? What are our experiences or stereotypes on the Roma, addict or extremist youngsters that who might be our neighbors in a ward? Health care system has a lot of weak points and we all have at least one horror story about a quirky nurse, a grumpy doctor, a dirty ward, or an insupportable patient. But have a look at this question from an other angle, let's see what we can do for a change! Independent Theater Hungary's play shows different viewpoints on health care as well as coexistence in general and draws attention to the importance of taking action.

Directed by Rodrigó Balogh
Dramaturge: Márton Illés
Performed by Barbara Balázs, Ireén Godó, Katalin Godó and István Kovács
Movement director: Gyula Antal Horváth
Visual: Péter Illés

Rodrigó Balogh: founder and artistic leader of the Independent Theater Hungary, writer, director and educator, the initiator of the Roma Heroes Festival and writer and director of numerous plays focusing on current interethnic and social topics. He also directed more theater movies based on his plays. He received Ibsen Scholarship, Junior Prima Prize for Hungarian Education, and Sozial Marie awards among other acknowledgements for his work.

Marton Illes: operative leader of the independent theater, sociologist, dramaturge and educator. He wrote and adopted numerous theater plays as author and dramaturgue and support also the work of the theater as manager, and educational expert.

About the Series
Although Roma are the largest ethnic minority in Europe, they still experience high level of racism and have to deal with many societal issues. Additionally, Roma are being represented in a very stereotypical way in the media and art world. The Roma theater has more than a century long past with active professional theater groups in many European countries, but unfortunately, they are still hardly known. The Roma Heroes Theater Festival initiated by the Independent Theater Hungary is the only international Roma theater encounter in the World, which have been organized in every year since 2017. Many of the artists and their work are featured in this current series.