Csaba Székely : 10 – staged reading

Language of the performance: English 

Subtitle: –

Age rating: R (Restricted)

How many lives have we irreversibly damaged so far? Even unconsciously, we influence one another. We are shaped by others, and we shape others in return. Every day, we make decisions under the influence of others; our shared experiences leave marks on our thinking. Throughout our lives, we exist in a complex web of relationships. So why, then, is loneliness such a deeply elemental experience?

Acclaimed Hungarian playwright Csaba Székely turns the Ten Commandments into a haunting moral investigation. Premiering at Radnóti Theatre in Budapest, Hungary, the drama unfolds like a crime series, as the lives of ten lonely individuals begin to intersect in unexpected ways. Secrets surface, relationships unravel, crimes are committed. But in a world of blurred lines and difficult choices, does committing a sin always make you guilty?

As part of the staged reading there will be a visually atmospheric introduction created specifically for this occasion by Kriszta Remete, setting the tone for the world of 10. The short performance explores the hidden layers of family history through the visual language of stripes. Each performer’s striped garment represents a unique family story and its rhythm. At the core of the piece, a large knitted tube is gradually unraveled, symbolizing the process of uncovering and reinterpreting inherited memories and identities. Through rhythm, movement, and textile, the piece reflects how personal and generational histories are woven and reexamined.
Music by Ádám Móser

Csaba Székely is a playwright and screenwriter. His first play (‘Do You Like Banana, Comrades?’) won the regional prize for Europe at the BBC’s International Radio Playwriting Competition in 2009. In 2013 it won the Society of Authors’ Richard Imison Award. 

His plays often deal with social and moral issues with a touch of black humour. They have been staged in several countries, including Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Italy, Spain, Russia and the USA. 

Székely has been awarded the Hungarian Theatre Critics’ Prize for Best New Hungarian Drama five times.

So far, two of his plays have been produced in the United States:

‘Mineflowers’ – MSU Theatre, Morehead, Kentucky. Directed by: Mary Linehan

‘I Regret Nothing’ – Holdcraft Performing Arts Center, Michigan City, Indiana. Directed by: John Hutchinson

This staged reading, part of the Hungary Live Festival, offers a rare chance for American audiences to experience the bold, vibrant voice of Hungarian contemporary drama. Featuring a mix of acclaimed Hungarian and American actors, the event not only highlights the work of a standout playwright but also serves as a cultural bridge between two countries. With simple yet impactful staging, the focus remains on the language, performances, and universal themes—making this a compelling introduction to one of Central Europe’s most dynamic theatre scenes.

Credits

Directed by: Csaba Székely
Translation: Anikó Szűcs
Performers: Boncz Ádám, Pankovits Nikolett, Tracy Hazas, Sadi Bimwala, Alice Lussiana Parente, Stork Natasa, Alok Tewari, Randolph Rand, Andrea Sooch
Composer and Musician: Ádám Móser
Costum Designer: Kriszta Remete
Stage Manager: Karla Gutierrez

Special performance in the frame of the staged reading by Kriszta Remete. 

Hungary L!ve Festival is made possible in part by the generous support of the Tulipán Foundation. The program is presented in the frames of Shares at La MaMa, providing theatre space for non-curated productions. 

Bios:

Alice Lussiana Parente is an award-winning actress and voice over talent originally from Italy and based in New York City.   She began her career in the first national tour of Pippi Longstocking (National Theatre of Rome) and starred in Peter Greenaway’s Peopling the Palace. Stage credits include After Othello (New Stage/GF&CO), The Worth of Women (Scotland tour/KIT), Money Heist: The Experience (Netflix), The Sandalwood Box (The Flea Theatre), Big Feelings (Culture Lab), Ice Cream Dream (New Victory LabWorks), and Il Falso Magnifico (Commedia dell’Arte/National Tour). Film and TV work includes Onirica (Amazon Prime), Richard the Lionheart (Lionsgate), and Life Bites (Disney Channel). She has voiced the Mickey Mouse Shorts (Disney +), several national campaigns, and audiobooks. Training: Stella Adler Studio of Acting. BFA in Cinema – University of Turin. www.alicelussianaparente.com

Karla Gutierrez is a Dominican-American actor and stage manager born and raised in New York City. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Sciences in drama from the College of Staten Island (2020), she has been actively involved in community theatre and playwright festivals over the past three years. She is passionate about creating inclusive theatrical spaces. Previous credits include stage managing Pitfalls a staged reading of Magical Girl Play written by Emmy Kuperschmid, and After Othello, written and directed by Gia Forakis. Karla is excited to
be part of ’10’ and is grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this stage reading.

Randolph Curtis Rand is an OBIE award winning theatre artist based in Brooklyn NY. Companies, theaters & people he’s worked with include Actors Theatre of Louisville, Bedlam, Center Theatre Group, Joseph Chaikin, Compagnia de’ Columbari, Elevator Repair Service, Richard Foreman, LIFE AND TRUST, Pig Iron, The Public Theatre, The Rude Mechs, The Wooster Group & many more.

Sadi Bimwala born and raised in New York. He’s a multi-hyphenate artist. His other disciplines are rapping, directing, and writing. He’s studied acting at the William Esper Studio and BMCC. His Off-Off Broadway Credits are Sentence To Life Without Music, The Black That I Am, and After Othello. He’s continuing his studies at the Juilliard School Extension program. Follow his instagram Badboy_Heavy to keep up with his creative endeavors. 

Natasa Stork is a freelance actress who works in classical theatrical productions, while also taking part in independent, experimental projects and films. She joined on theatre projects with innovative independent groups, such as Krétakör led by Árpád Schilling, and Proton Theater led by Kornél Mundruczó. With these performances, Stork was  invited to many prestigious international festivals, like MC 93 Bobigny’s Le Standard Idéal and Temps d’Images (Paris), among others. Her first leading role in a feature film was Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time, directed by Lili Horvát, which premiered at the 2020 Venice Film Festival to rave reviews, and was subsequently presented at the Toronto Film Festival, Busan and many other festivals, winning major awards worldwide, including five best actress trophies. Preparations was Hungary’s official Oscar entry in 2021, and it was also nominated for the Independent Spirit Award. Stork is one of ten European actors with international potential selected by a jury for the European Film Promotion’s talent programme, Shooting Stars in 2021. Soon to be released is Mayflies, a feature film by Emília Goldberg, in which she plays the leading role.

Born in Budapest, Hungary as Andrea Szucs. She is the daughter of a mathematics-physics professor father and a pianist mother. Andrea started performing at the age of 6 as a child protege violinist and a member of the Hungarian Radio and TV’s Children Choir. She left Hungary in 1989 when the Iron Curtain opened and moved to Vienna, where she had worked as a musical theater triple threat. In late 1993 the American Musical and Dramatic Academy offered a full scholarship that she’d gratefully accepted and moved to the USA in 1994. She appeared on Broadway, NY and Regional Stages, Film, and Television. She is native Hungarian, fluent in German, read-write Russian. Andrea is trained in psychodrama, drama therapy and group therapy. She is a licensed and published clinician as Andrea Szucs.

Nikolett Pankovits is a Hungarian-born, New York-based vocalist and composer known for fusing Hungarian folk, Latin American rhythms, and jazz. She began her theater career in 1999, performing the lead role for five years in the Hungarian musical Képzelt Riport Egy Amerikai Popfesztiválról at the Margit Földessy Drama Studio. After moving to New York, she spent a decade with the immersive Shakespeare company New Place Players. As a vocalist, she has performed at iconic venues including Carnegie Hall and the Blue Note. Her album Colors showcases her passion for poetry, storytelling, and cross-cultural musical expression.

Alok Tewari Broadway: The Band’s Visit Other Theatre: Prayer for the French Republic (Pioneer Theatre, UT), Monsoon Wedding, The Musical (St. Ann’s/Berkeley Rep); Dom Juan (Bard); India Pale Ale (MTC); The Band’s Visit (Atlantic); Awake and Sing! (Public / NAATCO); A Fable, Through the Yellow Hour, War (Rattlestick); Bunty Berman Presents, Rafta, Rafta… (New Group)  Television: “Kaleidoscope,” “The Good Fight,” “FBI,” “Iron Fist,” “House of Cards,” “Madam Secretary,” “Homeland,” “Fringe” Film: Bad Shabbos, The Pirates of Somalia, Shelter.

Tracy Hazas is an actor and movement director based in New York. She has performed at various NYC theaters including Dixon Place, Abrons Art Center, the Bushwick Starr, Theater for the New City and HERE Arts Center. She has been a movement consultant on plays produced by Clubbed Thumb (NYC) and regionally at Word for Word, Center Repertory Company and Davis Shakespeare. With director Kathleen Capdesuñer, she is developing Los Kentubanos, a full-length solo performance that had its first work-in-progress showing in 2025 at INTAR, and which was awarded a 2026 Mercury Store residency. Tracy is an affiliated artist with Counter-Balance Theater and teaches acting and movement at Queens College, City University of New York.