The editor, Márta Tömöry, used Albert Gyergyai’s 16th century romance and folk tale as a basis, and assembled it with wedding texts, incantations, and the comic thread of István Balogh’s fairy play:
With the adaptation of the most popular fairytale of all Hungarian settled territories, we entered the line of authors beginning with Albert Gyergyai. Is it still possible in our apocalyptic times to tell the love story of the Sun-maiden and the Moon-youth, which accompanies us from around the archaic moorland of the swan-kin, the folk of the water-fowl? And which survives not only in a number of our child songs, but also in the row of our wedding rites. Drawn upon this rich resource we created our own interpretation.
Prince Argylus and Fairy Ilona played on an own cart-stage.
- Text: Márta Tömöry
- Puppets, scene: Zsolt Szász
- Players: Márta Tömöry, András Kozma, Zsolt Szász
- Musicians: Károly Bálint, Zsolt Vaskó
- Technical needs: 6 x 7 x 3 m high room to erect the cart-stage, 3 microphones.
- Duration: 50 min.
- Building And Taking To Pieces: 40-40 min.
{ summary }
In the garden of king Acléton there is a magic tree, whose golden fruits disappear every morning. A fortune-teller declares: the tree was planted by a miracle being and it can only be saved if it is guarded by one of the princes, but he has to go into exile. The king flies into anger and orders the fortune-teller to be executed.
Prince Argylus guards the tree and in the form of a swan a virgin from the sky arrives and suddenly turns into a girl. „Love dream".
The king sends an old woman into the garden who cuts the girl's hair. Waking up fairy escapes but indicates that the prince can find her in the black town, at the place of metamorphoses. She leaves and the prince faints with sorrow.
The old woman shows up the lock of hair. The furious prince has her executed and wanders from home with Bufti Rikkó the attendant of the king. They go on a long journey in quest of the fairy.
They arrive at the cavern of a highland shaman, who gives them an attendant, a wolf-man.
The black town, the place of metamorphoses. A rich widow persuades the servant to betray his master. She gives him a magic hose that blows sleep on the prince. The widow promises her daughter to the servant but actually intends to give her to Argylus.
The fairy comes three times but finds Argylus all times asleep. For the third time she realizes the servant's betrayal and leaves a message in cipher that they may not meet any time on earth. The prince realizes that the servant had betrayed him and beheads the servant.
Argylus despairs and wants to fall on his sword but then a sky vision stops him, telling that better times are not as far away for him as they seem. At the same time he meets three little imps from whom he obtains magic devices with a trick and with the magic cloak he flies up to the castle of fairy Ilona.
The prince falls on the ground, breaks himself, he grows old and goes to the mountain to expiate. „The prayer of Argylus".
Argyle arrives at the celestial palace of fairy Ilona. The servants signal his arrival three times. For the fourth time Ilona comes out, recognizes him and he grows young again. They hold a wedding ceremony.
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