To Remember Is to Resist: Memory as a Means of Resistance in Contemporary Hungarian Dystopian Theatre

• In Event: At the Intersection of Narrative and Affect: The Art of Memory in Belarus, Hungary, and Poland

Abstract

In dystopian fiction, as in the totalitarian regimes of the 20th century, the oppression of individuals depends largely on the erasure of the past, including the freedoms and diverse governing ideologies that existed before the totalitarian takeover. This presentation examines recent Hungarian dystopian performances, such as "Chaos 2048" by the Örkény Theatre in Budapest and "1984" by Szeged National Theatre, to explore how the gradual recollection of a forgotten and suppressed past—evoked through images, gestures, and embodied memories—enables the protagonists to recover both their individual and collective histories. This process of remembering not only reclaims the past but also opens up the potential for resistance, both within the fictional dystopian world and in contemporary reality. Theatre audiences are encouraged to reimagine their identities by reassessing and remembering Hungary's national history and Soviet occupation beyond the nationalist and Russophile framework imposed by the Orbán government.

Author

• Aniko Szucs, CUNY Queens College