Hungary - Eastern Europe - page 344

weekends 2 to 8pm. Performances are frequent. VI. Liszt Ferenc tér 8. & 1/462-4600.
www.liszt.hu. Tickets 1,000 Ft-8,000 Ft ($5-$40/£2.55-£20). Metro: Oktogon (Yellow line) or Nyugati
Pályaudvar (Blue line).
THEATER & DANCE
Budapest has an extremely lively theater season from September through June. For
productions in English, there are still some at the Merlin Theater, V. Gerlóczy u. 4
( & 1/317-9338 or 1/318-9844; www.merlinszinhaz.hu), located on a quiet street in
the heart of the Inner City. The Merlin now programs about 40% English-language
shows, but somehow these efforts have never really resulted in a great following. In the
productions, however, both Hungarian and foreign actors are featured. Tickets cost
600 Ft to 2,000 Ft ($3-$20/£1.55-£5.15); the box office is open Monday through
Friday noon to 7pm, Saturday and Sunday 2 to 7pm. Take the metro to Astoria (Red
line) or Deák tér (all lines).
If you are looking for the best of international dance, music, or theater, head to the
Trafó House of Contemporary Art, IX. Liliom utca 41 ( & 1/215-1600 or 1/456-
2040; www.trafo.hu), which has the aura of the Joyce Theatre in New York. This
venue was once a building that housed a giant transformer (which connects it to the
western European tradition of settling artistic centers and institutions in empty indus-
trial buildings). Since it opened in 1998, this venue has introduced some bold pro-
gramming (which occasionally upsets traditional-minded Hungarians). This is truly a
place to go for intellectually adventurous and risky work. Prepare to gasp occasionally.
We especially recommend the dance works debuted here by groups such as the
French-Hungarian Compagnie Pál Frenák (www.ciefrenak.org); don't miss them if
they're in town. Tickets cost 800 Ft to 2,000 Ft ($4-$20/£2.10-£11); box office is
open Monday through Saturday from 5 until about 8pm. Reserve tickets in advance.
Take tram no. 4 or 6, or go by metro to Ferenc Körut (Blue line).
For musical productions, especially those by Andrew Lloyd Webber, go to the
Madách Theater, VII. Erzsébet krt. 29-33 ( & 1/478-2041; www.madachszinhaz.hu),
built in 1961 on the site of the famous Royal Orpheum Theater and beautifully
restored in 1999. Their hit production—since spring 2003—is The Phantom of the
Opera; Budapest is the only place in Europe outside of London where you can see the
original production. Ticket prices are 800 Ft to 10,000 Ft ($4-$50/£2-£26). The box
office is open daily from 3 to 7pm; performances are usually at 7pm. Take tram no. 4
or 6 to Wesselényi utca. Also staging musical performances, mostly by Hungarian
authors, is the Vígszínház (Comedy Theatre of Budapest), XIII. Szent István krt. 14
( & 1/329-2340; www.vigszinhaz.hu), which was recently restored to its original,
delightfully gaudy, neo-baroque splendor. In the 1950s the Vígszínház served as the
venue for the Hungarian Communist Party's New Year's Eve balls, hosted by Stalinist-
era dictator Mátyás Rákosi. With a show every night, the theater stages numerous audi-
ence-drawing plays by foreign and local writers. The box office is open daily 11am to
7pm. Ticket prices are 1,200 Ft to 3,000 Ft ($6-$15/£3.20-£8). Take the metro to
Nyugati pu. (Blue line).
The International Buda Stage, II. Tárogató út 2-4 ( & 1/391-2525; www.
ibs-b.hu), hosts local and international theater performances. The box office is open
Monday through Friday 10am to noon, 1 to 6pm, and on weekends 1 hour before the
start of the performance. Tickets cost 1,200 Ft to 2,500 Ft ($6-$13/£3.10-£6.40).