Taking advance bookings now!

Yes! We now have dates for our first few performances.We will have our world premiere (Ősbemutató) opening night on Wednesday 20th February 2013 at 7.30pm.

Tickets are now bookable in advance (1450ft) from Danube Events by clicking HERE.

From 1st February you can also buy advance tickets in person at the same price from the venue (MŰSZI), The Caledonia, Doblo Wine Bar and Treehugger Dan's too.

If you can't make the opening date or we sell out then we have definite dates two weeks later on Wed. 6th and Thurs. 7th March. Tickets are 1950ft at the door for all shows by the way.

We hope to see you at MŰSZI in a few weeks' time!

Behind the Scenes

Aha, fooled you perhaps! Maybe you were expecting to see behind actual scenery down at The English Department?

Just look at this image from our first physical rehearsal (back in December) with the cast at our venue, MŰSZI. No scenery, no stage, just raw space to play with...

Here are Mark [Matt/Mátyás] and Edina [Fruzsi] being guided by our glorious director, Patrick, in the Cemetery scene!


Maybe there'll be a peek at the scenery sometime in the next few weeks when it is actually taking shape?

Introducing our cast and our lead man

We are delighted to announce we have a multi-national cast acting in our show. Four different countries are represented and 62.5% of the roles are filled by Hungarians. This isn’t quite a super-majority but I believe it will be pleasing to the current political administration.

We will now introduce you to our lead actor:

Mark Bubno [Matt/Mátyás]

Though born and raised Hungarian, Mark’s affinity for miming accents quickly destabilized his national identity, and he started flocking with English-speaking non-Hungarians. His natural eccentricity drove him to theatre where he could benefit from his experience as a performing artist. Playing a schizophrenic is also not something completely new for him.

“(Ide jön...) az Angolság!”

[HU]

“(Ide jön...) az Angolság!” Ez a színdarab magyar címe. De a kérdésed: mi is pontosan ‘az angolság’?

Ebben a kontextusban a szót használom mint valami katasztrófavédelmi szolgálat: ‘tűzoltósag,’ ‘rendőrség.’

“Megerkezett a tűzoltóság, az Angolság is!” (Leüljen mindenki és teát igyon).

[EN]

“(Ide jön...) az Angolság!” - the Hungarian version of the title of the play. But the question is, what is this ‘Angolság’ concept all about? In this context I am using it as some kind of emergency service on patrol, on the basis of the ‘-ság/-ség’ ending. Like Fire Department (US English) ‘Tűzoltó-ság’ and Police Department (US Eng.) ‘Rendőr-ség.’

“The Fire Department have arrived, the English Department too!” (Everybody sits down and has a cup of tea).

The English title was originally “(Here comes...) the English Brigade!” as in ‘Fire Brigade’ (UK English). I did however discover after having finished writing the play that in Hungary this may have alluded to a play about football hooliganism so I decided to opt for an Americanisation. Of course ‘English Department’ could refer to a teaching faculty or a wave of migrants invading to teach English as a foreign language, (which nobody in this play does I might add; they have other ideas...)

A New Play!

Welcome to the blog for "(Here comes...) the English Department!" a new absurd comedy stageplay written by Wayne Brett, in English, with just a little Hungarian, a couple of utterances in French and one German word.

Set in Budapest in 2005, a year after Hungary joined the EU, we follow a group of three Brits who've all moved to the country for their own individual reasons.

The locals are welcoming, curious about the oddities and motives of the outsiders while proudly offering up their own angle on how it all is.

Deception, confusion and at some times euphoria ensue, especially when the missing gravy is found. Does anyone really know where they are going in this life? Look out for some tips from the top.

"(Here comes...) the English Department!" is due to world premiere at Műszi (http://muszi.org)  near Blaha Lújza tér in Budapest, later in February 2013. Details still to be finalised. Watch this space for the latest information!