Pesti Theatre

In the heart of the city center on Váci Street stands Vígszínház’s chamber theater, the Pesti Theater, which opened in 1967.

The listed classicist-style building was built in 1840 based on the design of József Hild.
Initially, the Aranykéz Street section housed a marble-columned café and restaurant with apartments on the upper floors. These were later rebuilt, and the outdated “National Hotel” opened in the building.

In 1902, further reconstructions were carried out, and a cinema was built on the ground floor. During World War II, the building was severely damaged, almost completely destroyed. A few years after the restoration, the cinema became the Bartók Hall, which was operated by the Music and Concert-organizer Company until 1967, when, at the initiative of Zoltán Várkonyi, the building became the new venue for the Vígszínház. With the establishment of the Pesti Theater, the Vígszínház was able to broaden ad enrich its repertoire: it housed more experimental performances with fewer actors, monodramas, and those contemporary and classical plays for which the building and stage on the Szent István Boulevard would have been too spacious.

The opening performance was Gogol’s Diary of a Madman, with a memorable performance by Iván Darvas, and this staging immediately indicated the character of the new venue. Since then, legendary performances have been born on the stage of Pesti Theatre one after another – from the works of Örkény, Nádas, Kornis, Spiró and Esterházy to Shakespeare and Woody Allen. Classic comedies, contemporary social dramas, and popular youth performances such as The Jungle Book and Toldi have also found a home here.