Curatorial Discussion: The Body as a Documentary Tool
Nevertheless, documentary approaches have become increasingly prominent in theatre in recent years, along with the belief that it is precisely the paradoxical nature of this form that can reveal something about reality that has previously escaped us.
A crucial aspect is that documentary theatre places the body at its centre. Unlike documentary texts or recordings, the body is subject to constant change and transformation. But is it not precisely this transformation and situational nature that makes reality real?
How can this paradox be explored in depth? What implications does it have for theatre dramaturgy, and what challenges does it pose to theatre institutions?
is a theatre director, playwright, dramaturg, and performer based in Budapest and Munich. He develops research-based projects with a documentary approach and various collaborative methods. His artistic interests include topics such as forms of activism, collective memory and the unspoken past of societies, visibility of working class, the analysis of contemporary political rhetoric, particularly right-wing populism and Christian fundamentalism.
He studied theatre dramaturgy at the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest, then he worked for several years as a dramaturg at the Radnóti Theatre, while simultaneously directing his own projects both in the independent scene (Hungarian Acacia, Observers, Necromancy, Some Viewers May Find This Distracting) and with municipal theatre ensembles (The Savage Detectives, The Widow of the Nation). In parallel, he earned his PhD. For the past two years, he has been teaching playwriting and dramaturgy at the University of Pécs.
His works have been presented at numerous international festivals, including Fast Forward, Spielart and Theaterfestival Basel, as well as venues such as Mousonturm, Bozar, Kaserne Basel, Hellerau and the Akademie der Künste in Berlin. In 2026, he created the production DRIVE together with Tímea Török and Teresa Lucia Rosenkrantz in a German-Hungarian collaboration between Jurányi House in Budapest, HochX in Munich and Lichthof Theater in Hamburg, supported by the International Coproduction Fund of the Goethe-Institut.
Website: https://kristofkelemen.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristof___kelemen/
director, writer, and performer, as well as the frontman of the band Berlin Menson. He studied at Charles University and the Academy of Theater Arts in Kraków, and is currently completing his studies at DAMU (Alternative and Puppet Theater).
His directing credits include the production *The Last Time My Parents Were at Komuna Warszawa* (Komuna Warszawa, 2022), *Prcat* (P*AKT, 2024), and *Reprise*—part of the triptych *The Slovaks Come to Life*. *Hymn for the 21st Century* (Uhol_92, 2024). At the end of 2025, his original performance *ALEX* (ARCHA+/Batyskaf, 2025) premiered, a work that balances between personal confession, fiction, and documentary. He also contributed to the stage adaptation of *Frankenstein* directed by Petra Tejnorová at the National Theater (2025). Together with Olga Ciężkowska, he serves as the artistic curator of the *Based on a True Story* project and festival.
English
Small hall
90 minutes
