Sea Lavender

or the euphoria of being

the film recording of the performance

At the age of twenty, Éva Fahidi returned home alone from Auschwitz-Birkenau, where forty-nine of her family members—including her mother, father, and younger sister—had been killed. At ninety, she was invited to step onto the stage for the first time in her life in a dance-theater production alongside Emese Cuhorka, a young, internationally acclaimed dancer. This collaboration gave rise in 2015 to the Symptoms’ legendary production Sea Lavender, directed by Réka Szabó and staged at the Vígszínház’s Házi Színpad.

Éva is a passionate pleasure-seeker, while Emeseis bent of saving the world. Éva never says good-bye, while Emese enjoys coming home. What connects them is the common language of dance. One of the last witnesses of the Holocaust, Éva has kept her clothes she wore as a young woman, and they fit Emese to a tee. Emese is tall; Éva likes to believe she has remained so. They look alike.

What is at stake in this piece is the question of whether the boundary between their two worlds is really permeable. Can personal experience be passed on? Or, conversely, is it possible to grasp the problems of a young person today by someone carrying such a heavy baggage of a long life as Éva does? In short, is it feasible for these two to share the stage for a Grand Dance Duet?

A documentary film about the rehearsal process and the life of Éva Fahidi was also produced, directed by Réka Szabó. The Euphoria of Being toured the globe and won numerous prestigious awards. Now, for the first time, the theatrical performance itself is available to view on the big screen, just as audiences experienced it originally. Post-production for the Sea Lavender film was made possible with the support of the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies at Yale University.

SEA LAVENDER - the performance

director: Szabó Réka

performers and co-creators: Cuhorka Emese, Fahidi Éva

dramaturgy: Peer Krisztián, Zsigó Anna

light designer: Szirtes Attila

costume designer: Szűcs Edit

special props: Haraszti Janka

stage manager: Héjj János

Supported by: National Cultural Fund, Ministry of Human Resources

special thanks:

to Vígszínház, for hosting the performance

to Hodworks for the Nobody costume

to the backstage staff of The Symptoms: Kovács Flóra, Papp Éva, Bilau Kinga, Kmety-Molnár Györgyi, Mihály Edina, Kónya Klára, Ötvös Veronika

to Golda Fischer, who provided simultaneous interpretation for the spontaneous parts of the performance abroad

to the head of the drama program related to the performance: Bakonyvári Krisztina

to István Gőz and Réka Szabó, for driving Éva to and from rehearsals and performances

to Andor Andrási, Éva's partner, for helping Éva learn her lines, accompanying her to every performance, and cheering her on

music:

James Brown: Get Up Offa That Thing

Erik Satie: Premiere Gymnopedie, performed by Daniel Varsano

Guem: Rythme Douda

Rachmaninoff: Prelude in C-sharp minor, performed by Martin Jones

Ligeti Gyorgy: Lontano, performed by Wiener Philharmoniker, conductor: Claudio Abbado

Julius Fučik: Entry of the Gladiators Op.68, performed by Andre Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra

Saint-Saens: Bacchanale, performed by London Symphony Orchestra

SEA LAVENDER - the film

director and producer: Szabó Réka – The Symptoms

executive producer: Csanádi Andrea

editor: Halasi Barbara

sound post-production: Várhegyi Rudolf - INFAZE studio

colorist: Halasi Barbara

director of photography: Nyoszoli Ákos, Podányi Dániel, Szurdi Panni

location sound: Várhegyi Rudolf, Puszta Márk

translation: Csanádi Andrea

graphic artist: Mezei Ildikó

supported by Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Beinecke Rare

Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University