The first Hungarian theatrical exhibition

Abstract

Hungarian-speaking professional acting celebrat­ed the centenary of its birth in 1890. The National Hungarian Actors’ Association and Retirement Insti­tute, the professional organisation of rural theatres, intended to commemorate the anniversary with a series of celebrations. The highlight of the jubilee events was the first national theatrical exhibition, which opened on 15 August 1890 in the Kunsthalle of the National General Exhibition of 1885, in the City Park. For rural theatre, which represented the majority of Hungarian-language theatre, the jubilee was an excellent opportunity to present its past and present – to present itself outside the stage and the theatre as well. The research paper seeks to answer how this was done, and with what results. In addition to the catalogue of the first Hungarian theatrical ex­hibition, the drawings of Tivadar Dörre and the pho­tographs of Sándor Halácsy have been preserved – and there’s more: many of the exhibited objects have been preserved by the actors’ association. These were the first items of the association’s col­lection of theatre history, which was later transferred to the Theatre History Collection of the National Szé­chényi Library in 1950 (since 2020 it is called Thea­tre History and Music Collection).