When I heard that tickets were available to a play in Budapest starring John Lithgow, I immediately called friends and snapped up six tickets. I have liked Lithgow every since I first saw him in the sci-fi cult classic The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, and then The World According to Garp, and most recently Dexter. I was under the impression that it would be like the recent John Malkovich production in Budapest, but was soon disappointed to learn that it was a simultaneous live broadcast from the National Theatre in London. As the tickets were not cheap, I panicked. However, Richard and Magda assured me that they had been to a similar show and that it was a great experience so we kept the faith and the tickets. The Magistrate was shown at the Orkeny Szinhaz on January 17th.

The Magistrate is an 1885 farce by English actor and dramatist Arthur Wing Pinero. "With his louche air and a developed taste for smoking, gambling, port and women, it’s hard to believe Cis Farringdon is only fourteen. And that’s because he isn’t. Agatha his mother lopped five years from her true age and his when she married the amiable Posket. The imminent arrival of Cis’ godfather sends Agatha incognito to the Hôtel des Princes to warn him of her deception. But it’s also where her son has cajoled his otherwise staid stepfather into joining him for a binge. High-spirited carousing leads to a police raid and a night of outrageous mishap as the trapped guests make desperate attempts to conceal themselves from the law and from each other. Indignities escalate at court the next day where Posket, the police magistrate, must preside."

The double subtitling in both English and Hungarian was too much for me, and I had trouble concentrating on the actual play. The Hungarian subtitles were at the top of the screen and were not always visible due to the lighting and placement. I do not understand why the English subtitles were there at all, unless they were for the deaf. The song texts I also found weak. Lithgow was solid, while I thought female lead Nancy Carroll was very good as Agatha. The awesome stage design deserves special mention. Copied from Victorian pop-up books, the stage actually folded up and out as if it were a pop-up book. There was moment that the entire house laughed at, when a bobby did a short slapstick routine. The comedic timing was spot on, and there were many laughs throughout. In the end though, it was just not the same as live theatre. I was glad I went, and the production was enjoyable, but I think I will stick to live theater in the future.