In search of the 'real Shakespeare' : Sándor Hevesi's Taming of the Shrew in 1923, Budapest

Abstract

This study introduces Sándor Hevesi (1873–1939), a Hungarian translator, theatre critic, Shakespeare scholar and opera and theatre director, who played a crucial role in the Budapest theatre scene in the 1920s. His work has received less attention than it deserves, and particularly the so-called Shakespearecycles, i.e., Hevesi's serialised Shakespeare productions, are still neglected. The cycles/series were performed between 1922 and 1933, while Hevesi was artistic and managing director of the National Theatre. These productions resuscitated the then fading Hungarian Shakespeare cult and profoundly changed the Hungarian reception and performance of Shakespeare. Hevesi's intention was to present both authentic and popular Shakespeare productions, therefore, he sought the key to 'the real Shakespeare'. The present study intends to explore what Hevesi (could have) meant by this expression, and particularly focuses on an unknown manuscript, Hevesi's own, handwritten director's copy of the Taming of the Shrew (1923). Through the case study of his staging of the Shrew, the paper reveals Hevesi's particular methods of close reading, translation, and stage direction. It concludes that Hevesi's concept of the 'real Shakespeare' was in fact a complex, experimental journey, transcending the boundaries of stage direction, dramaturgy, and scenography of the day.