MEDIATHEK

Actor, theatre and film director, formerly the artistic head of the Bárka Theatre and from 2008 manager of the National Theatre in Budapest. He has directed a large number of productions in Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia and the US, and his productions have been invited to international festivals. "Conservative audiences are outraged by his productions, since in classical plays he emphasises the sexual element, homosexuality and various highly controversial themes (...) However, since he took over at the helm of Budapest's first theatre, audience numbers have been going up and up, with 2009 being the first year that the National Theatre turned a profit. Alföldi has also gained an award from the Association of Hungarian Critics for his overhaul of the National Theatre (...) The debate surrounding his work at the Hungarian National Theatre has reopened questions concerning artistic freedom and the general issue of whether a "national theatre" should function as a historical museum," Vítězslav Sladký has written. Scource: http://www.festivaldivadlo.cz/en/predstaveni/53/ dntz