Living the Dream with Grandma

In December 2020, during one of the waves of the pandemic, Hungarian director and actor László Göndör decided to move in with his 97-year-old grandmother and document the time he spent with her. Éva Katona, an admirable and beloved woman, survived, among other things, the Shoah. During the 32 days that the grandson and grandmother spent together, her flat was gradually transformed into a stage for an unusual party: “Delicacies and fine champagne appeared out of nowhere, expensive jewellery appeared here and there, and the singing of a mysterious man could be heard from afar, on a shelf the light of the Virgin Mary lit up next to Lenin, crows were flying, the first snow was falling, and we were wearing masks for some reason.” The production is a fragile duet of two beings: László live on stage and Éva through audio and video recordings. Every performance is a moment in which they can be together again and for the last time. What values ​​should we keep deep within even when everything around us is so fragile and uncertain?

director, writer, concept, performer: László Göndör
performer (sound, video): Éva Katona
co-director, concept: Kornél Laboda
sound design: Márk Bartha
sound masters: Bence Somoskövi, Bence Kovács-Vajda
lights design: Máté Bredán
equipment operator: Ákos Lengyel “Papa”
set design: Gabriella Csoma
audio and video editor, concept: Alexandra Láng
documentary material processing: Máté Bartha
playwright, concept: Zsófi Bódi
consultant: Tamás Ördög
psychology consultant, concept: Lili Olga Horváth
production assistant: Zsuzsi Szakács
production manager: Dániel Mayer

special thanks to: Ádám Fekete, Tamás Turai, Dániel Daoud, Rozi Szelecki, Leta Popescu, Péter Hajmási, Zoltán Ásmány, Nelli Orbán, Katalin Farkas, Zsuzsa Bánkuti, Ómama Antikvitás

The production took place within the framework of the Staféta Programme established and supported by the Municipality of Budapest.

partners: Trafó House of Contemporary Arts, Orlai Production, Office and Marom Budapest – Jewish Culture 2028, SzínMűHely Foundation

presentation at Divadelná Nitra supported by the Slovak Arts Council, the Nitra Self-Governing Region, The City of Nitra, SPP Foundation, LITA — authors’ society

László Göndör (1986) is stage director, playwright, stage and film actor. In 2011, he studied applied economics in Budapest, followed by courses and studies in acting, dance and theatre in the USA, Indonesia and Hungary. As stage actor and performer, Mr Göndör performed in dozens of productions since 2014, for instance at the TÁP theatre in Budapest, or the House of Contemporary Art Trafó. In 2022, his production Dreaming with my Grandma won the Audience Award among all the projects supported in the Relay programme over the past three years.