Do you know where you’ll sleep tonight? And what the weather will be like then? How many times a week do you eat a warm meal? When was the last time you had a shower? Have you ever asked strangers to give you money? How do you see yourself in half a year?
Every day, around two to three people lose their homes in Hungary. Only with huge support, outstanding will, and big luck can help to get out of this situation. The cooperation of Lifeboat Unit and STEREO AKT is an interactive theatrical board game, where we find ourselves standing in homeless people’s shoes. We have to live and survive half a year without any place to live.
The act is played by four people: two actors, a homeless activist and a social worker, who – as an expert – helps us to get to know this truly unknown world.
The play is for adults and high school children as well, and is a status report about our society, which on one hand highlights the causes of personal aspects of homelessness, and questions all the stereotypes that states “you are worth as much as you earn” and “if you are poor, blame yourself”.
Cast:
Performers: Gyula Balog, Mária Kőszegi, Zola Szabó
Leader of the game, expert: Réka Szenográdi
Author: Gábor Fábián and the cast
Dramaturge: Ambrus Ivanyos
Music by: István Rimóczi
Set and costumes: Zita Schnábel
Graphic design: Luca Szabados
Game developers: Ágnes Tar, László Bass, Bálint Csató, Márton Gosztonyi, Róbert Jakus
Consultant: László Bass
Production assistants: Tímea Török, Zsuzsanna Balogh
Production manager: Dóra Trifonov, Daniel Mayer
Director: Martin Boross
The performance uses parts from the homeless newspaper Fedél Nélkül / Without a Cover, from the book HajléktaLand / HomelessLand, from the paper Gátak építése helyett / Instead of building walls of Bálint Misetics, and it uses quotes from works of homeless people and their real life.
Poster photo: Allié Fanny www.fannyallie.com
Production partners: Menhely Alapítvány / Shelter Foundation, Budapesti Módszertani Szociális Központ és Intézményei (BMSZKI) / Budapest Methodological Centre of Social Policy and Its Institutions
Supporters: Budapest Bank Budapestért Alapítvány / Budapest Bank for Budapest Foundation, Hajléktalanokért Közalapítvány / Public Foundation for Homeless, Köszönjük Magyarország! / Thank you Hungary! program, Ministry of Human Resources, Human Capacities Grant Management Office, Summa Artium, Visegrad Fund
Special thanks to Gábor Galácz for his generous donation.
The performances on November 3 and December 21 2019, and January 21, February 13, October 1 and November 4 2020 are realised within the framework of the “Nobody should sleep on the street! Complex sensitisation campaigns on homelessness in the Visegrád countries” project. The project is co-financed by the Governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe. Further information: https://fedelnelkul.hu/en/visegrad
