2003

Abbey Theatre, Dublin

Ibsen

Wild Duck

2004

Abbey Theatre, Dublin

Békés, Pál-Theatre du Compagnole

Dance in Time

The Irish Times
Fintan O'Toole

[...]" Marton' low key, unfussy direction, with its emphasis on crisp movement and clear storytelling, becomes steadily more impressive. The assurance with which he and the cast plot the play's shifting moods, from sardonic satire to bitter comedy to horrible tragedy, makes for absorbing theatre. [ ...] this is a captivating and unexpectedly enjoyable production of an oddly timely play. It will certainly tell you as much about truth, lies, and scandals in two-and-a-half hours as the same period spent at a tribunal."
10. July 2003.

WOW!
Susan Conley

"A familiar cast comprised of some of Ireland's most talented actors are directed into the statosphere by Hungarian director Laszlo Marton; it might seem that they have been asked to do 'less' than ususal, but in fact they are asked to do much, much more. The understated approach that Marton has taken towards Ibsen's text (in a new version by Frank McGuinness) allows each and every player to fully embody their characters in a way that few directors demand. In place ofwhat often appears to be uncontrolled emoting, we-are presented with truthful, human behaviour, rich in believability, with plenty ofroom for explosions ofpassion and grief. [ ...] This wonderful productoin is the highlight of the Dublin theatre season thus far, and Marton's direction should be taken as a master class for any practitioners who would like to move beyond the declamatory early nineteenth century mode that seems to define much of Irish theatre making."
10. July. 2003.

Frank McCusker and
Judith Roddy

Sunday lndependent
Emer Okelly

" A new version of Ibsen ' s The Wild Duck is a major theatrical event. .."
13. July. 2003.

The Sunday Business Post
Amy Iggulden

[...] "This well paced production reaches successfully for humour as it plunges to tragedy. Each character is played with a sureness and lightness oftouch that straddles farcial humour and despair."[...]
13. July. 2003.

Culturevulture.net
Harvey O'Brien

[...] "Hungarian director László Marton makes brilliant use of the stage at the Peacock, with excellent blocking and precise movement which succeeds in sustaining the illusion of naturalism in the presence of a symbollically and thematically charged space. Every actor seems comfortable with the complexities of the text and every nuance of psychological tension has been drawn out though controlled yet fluid direction.
9. July. 2003.

What ' s Going On
Paddy Kehoe - Something Wild

[...] "Hungarian director László Marton perfectly pitches the farcial moments against the unfolding backdrop ofhorror in a choreography that is profoundly disturbing at climactic moments."[...]

[...] "The Wild Duck recently done below in the Peacock. Another example of a European Classic, like the Gorky, although the Gorky wasn’t particularly a classic, just wonderfully brought to life. I didn’t know the play. I knew roughly the gist of it having read the preface of it in my studies. Probably I’d pontificated about it in some essay pretending that I had read it no doubt! But it was actually great to see. I thought that the ensemble energy of the cast was superb which is another word that so easily bandied about -‘ensemble’ playing. Yet I thought this group really achieved that. They all had a sense of a single purpose -that they had worked so closely on or that they had worked with such good faith in, or with, Laszló Marton, the director. This great centrality, this purpose, as if they were all on the same football team, may seem an obvious thing to say about a cast and production. However it’s not often you actually achieve this situation. Actors will know what I’m talking about. Sometimes you find somebody in the cast is in King Lear and somebody else seems to be in The Merry Wives of Windsor! This bunch was actually incredibly directed in all senses of the word and great servants of this play. The play is a fantastic story with great, wonderfully drawn characters and the cast really rose to it, subjugated their own egos and made their own skills serve the text and the clarity of the directorial purpose.

I knew a lot of the actors and I was very impressed when talking to them afterwards with their degree of generosity and of spirit. I was talking to them and like all directors wanted to know what the director had done. Actors are much more clued into a range of directing styles because they get to work with a range of directors; directors, on the other hand, just tend to work with themselves. So they only know one style of directing, one in all its faults. So I was asking these actors, ‘What did he do, what did he do?’ – meaning the Director Laszló Marton. It was interesting to learn that because the man came with a considerable reputation and with great discipline they all very much, subjugated themselves to pretty much whatever it was that he said. I knew that cast and there were a few tricky customers in there, a few fiery, questioning individuals! They would be prone to argue! You say “It’s black” and they say “Well is it? I’ve got a funny feeling it’s white actually, why couldn’t it be?” and you end up saying “Oh for God’s sake shut up!” No, I’m not actually going to slander anybody, but, whatever the reason was, they knuckled down, focused up and got it done.

So it was interesting to see in terms of an aesthetic that because they put themselves very much in his hands and because he was very clear about what it was that he wanted, they actually managed to give a performance that ended up being incredibly focused. They too actually found this incredibly satisfying. I don’t want to say anything that’s too supine but they related themselves properly to the play and to the production demands and created something that was therefore all the more fulsome in its final realisation. Again perhaps it is only something that the Abbey and the Peacock can really do and for which it should be given full credit. It was a commercial risk - a lesser-known Ibsen, a big cast and a director who needed to be brought over to Ireland to direct it. I thought that was a good example of why the risk is worth taking and what the pay offs can be. "[...]