:: Shiraz Art Festival 1977: Squat Theatre's Pig, Child, Fire!::

a document from the Shiraz performance of Pig, Child, Fire! in 1977 (on the photo Anna Koos and Galus Halasz)

The photo above presents a scene played in the Shiraz version of Pig, Child, Fire! replaacing the first act

"Stavrogin's Confession," as a prop (the big puppet), an important part of the scene, never left the ports of New York.

This substitute scene was based on a play originally performed in Budapest in 1975, described in Jim O'Quinn's

article "Squat Theatre Underground 1972-76"", The Drama Review, Performance Issue.

Volume 23 Number 4 December, 1979 as follows:

[The Assasin of Children in Bethlehem] was a twisted version of the Bible story of King Herod's attempts to murder

the baby Jesus. Squat added a fake narrative about Judas, in which Judas' mother saves her infant son by seducing the

soldier who comes to kill him. The scene included soldiers seizing doll-children from their mothers and smashing

them with swords, while fake blood splattered about; and the lovemaking of Judas' mother and the soldier.

bethlehem

The soldier (Peter Breznyik) and the woman (Anna Koos) in the original version, with the spectators inside a

house, built within the apartment on Dohany Street, Budapest in 1975.

This scene has been adapted for the storefront window in Shiraz.

The comic strip effect, part of the early version, with the lights going on and off in mid-action, was preserved and

enforced by a black frame placed on the store-window. A narrator inside the store, singing Jewish songs, had

candles burning between his fingers (Peter Halasz.)

The actions and characters outside, on the street in front of the storefront, were identical to the one in the original

version (described earlier), with one soldier playing all parts of the group of soldiers in Herod's army (Peter Breznyik),

two women with doll-children (Agnes Santha and Klara Palotai) and Judas' mother (Anna Koos) with a child (Galus Halasz.)

This part in Shiraz was called "..and Slew the Children of Bethlehem."

Pig, Child, Fire! (with no other alteration) was performed by Squat Theatre members Stephan Balint, Eszter Balint, Peter Breznyik, Eva Buchmuller,

Eric Daillie, Galus Halasz, Peter Halasz, Marianne Kollar, Anna Koos, Boris Major, and Rebecca Major.

Read one of the many articles that describes Pig, Child, Fire! in Europe, before the group left for the US during

the summer of 1977, just one month prior to the 11th Shiraz Art Festival.

¦ BIBLIOGRAPHY ¦ Collection ¦ about this site ¦ contact us ¦


	Shiraz Art Festival August 1977 ¦ back to BIBLIOGRAPHY ¦ Collection ¦ about this site ¦ contact us ¦ poster of Pig, Child, Fire! at the 11th Shiraz Art Festival a document from the Shiraz performance of Pig, Child, Fire! in 1977 (on the photo Anna Koos and Galus Halasz) The photo above presents a scene played in the Shiraz version of Pig, Child, Fire! replaacing the first act "Stavrogin's Confession," as a prop (the big puppet), an important part of the scene, never left the ports of New York. This substitute scene was based on a play originally performed in Budapest in 1975, described in Jim O'Quinn's article "Squat Theatre Underground 1972-76"", The Drama Review, Performance Issue. Volume 23 Number 4 December, 1979 as follows: [The Assasin of Children in Bethlehem] was a twisted version of the Bible story of King Herod's attempts to murder the baby Jesus. Squat added a fake narrative about Judas, in which Judas' mother saves her infant son by seducing the soldier who comes to kill him. The scene included soldiers seizing doll-children from their mothers and smashing them with swords, while fake blood splattered about; and the lovemaking of Judas' mother and the soldier. The soldier (Peter Breznyik) and the woman (Anna Koos) in the original version, with the spectators inside a house, built within the apartment on Dohany Street, Budapest in 1975. This scene has been adapted for the storefront window in Shiraz. The comic strip effect, part of the early version, with the lights going on and off in mid-action, was preserved and enforced by a black frame placed on the store-window. A narrator inside the store, singing Jewish songs, had candles burning between his fingers (Peter Halasz.) The actions and characters outside, on the street in front of the storefront, were identical to the one in the original version (described earlier), with one soldier playing all parts of the group of soldiers in Herod's army (Peter Breznyik), two women with doll-children (Agnes Santha and Klara Palotai) and Judas' mother (Anna Koos) with a child (Galus Halasz.) This part in Shiraz was called "..and Slew the Children of Bethlehem." Pig, Child, Fire! (with no other alteration) was performed by Squat Theatre members Stephan Balint, Eszter Balint, Peter Breznyik, Eva Buchmuller, Eric Daillie, Galus Halasz, Peter Halasz, Marianne Kollar, Anna Koos, Boris Major, and Rebecca Major. Read one of the many articles that describes Pig, Child, Fire! in Europe, before the group left for the US during the summer of 1977, just one month prior to the 11th Shiraz Art Festival. ¦ BIBLIOGRAPHY ¦ Collection ¦ about this site ¦ contact us ¦