"... for they scattered colorful beads in the earth; he gathered them into his palm, then placed some of them deep underground, so that if you, too, go searching and dig in the soil, you might find them."

*Mesemag* is interwoven with elements of circus, theater, and puppetry. Just as the earth’s crust opens up, nourished by the world of the tale, the layers of the narrative poem unfold. The set itself is a visual art installation that constantly transforms during the performance, creating a space for puppetry, juggling, and acrobatics. All of this is underpinned by the unique musical world created by the composer duo Kézdy and Szesztay, blending the sounds of the violin and piano.

The story interweaves various eras and timelines; while seemingly linear, it actually connects spaces and temporal horizons by drawing upon the scattered fragments of memory. At its core, this tale is autobiographical: for the youngest, it evokes the beauty of storytelling, while for young people and adults, it explores a contemporary coming-of-age narrative—raising the question of whether such a narrative still exists today, and whether it is truly about individual growth or rather about communal existence—or indeed, if such a thing exists at all.

The sixty-minute performance is as quintessentially condensed as a poem. Indeed, one should not expect epic storytelling or drama on stage, but rather pure lyricism. The events unfold through images and symbols; words serve merely as aids to understanding, yet the sentences themselves appeal to the senses rather than the intellect—their musicality and rhythmic repetition further enhance the atmosphere created by the music, dance, and circus elements. Our small yet diverse audience—spanning all ages—surrendered to the experience; preschoolers, primary school children, pre-teens, and adults alike were spellbound by Simorág’s tale.

(...) As a performer, Ágnes Simor embodies this onstage miracle, yet she is merely one representative of the collaborative artistic effort that brought the production to life. The set and costumes (Anna Weszelovszky)—which undergo a continuous transformation right before our eyes—the music composed for the show (the musical world of *Mesemag* is shaped by the violin playing of Luca Kézdy—whom we previously encountered in the Puppet Theatre’s adaptation of *Frankenstein*—and the piano passages of Dávid Szesztay), the lighting by Bala Szabon, Ágnes Simor’s words, and the painted books of Eggardo Gonzalez all create the tale as equal partners; no single component plays second fiddle within the structure, and every element holds compositional significance.

ketlampas.blog.hu