Duration of the performance: approx. 2 hours and 15 minutes
In 1988, Gábor Presser and Dusán Sztevanovity, who were already familiar creative duos in the LGT ensemble, presented in the Vígszínház in 1988 - and have kept it in the repertoire since then - with the genre designation "half fairy tale, half musical". Playwright Péter Horváth joined the author duo as co-creator of the libretto. Since then, the work has toured almost all theaters in the country. According to Gábor Presser, "perhaps the honorable reception is due to the fact that the work is a family or community piece that is completely free of politics and history." The story of Lámpás, the loving couple Rádiós and Süni, Mamóka who is always making plum dumplings and the others is for everyone from 9 to 99 years old.
"... I don't even know, it's been almost a quarter of a century since A padlás was born, and since then it has been "holding itself" between East and West, it has traveled the country several times, and even visited some foreign places. At the request of the former director of the Vígszínház, László Marton, I reworked Dusán's first version of the play, I had to read the new scenes daily in the director's office, and then we worked on it with the "boys" for another six months. It was an enthusiastic, beautiful joint work with Presser Pici and Dusán. It was as if, in addition to us and László Marton and Zsuzsa Radnóti, even the non-existent Good Lord had been near us during those inspired months, which is why the tale was able to succeed in such a way that it still brings joy to its viewers today. And this is the most important thing: to give joy and energy to the viewers... with plum dumplings cooked by Mamóka."
Peter Horváth
"Twenty-odd years ago, at the time of the presentation of A padlás, I was shooting pigs in and around the Vígszínház. Maybe I was a secondary playwright? I won't tell! I just remember being there. I sat in the rehearsals of the play many times, even though I would never have believed it if someone had told me that I would ever direct it. The success, which has been going on for almost twenty-five years, was amazing and exceeded expectations by a thousand times. I don't know if today, when The Attic has already become a classic, it is possible or permissible to say more about the play than its now catchphrase line: »because we need a place!«
