Judit Ungvári: Actress Ildikó Bánsági

Temperament, vitality, refined sensitivity and passionate extremes alike characterise Ildikó Bánsági’s performances on stage and on screen. In addition to more than a hundred theatrical roles, over fifty film appearances and nearly fifty television productions preserve her portrayals. As a dubbing actress, her voice can be heard in some two hundred films. Her forceful femininity, regardless of age, leaves a distinct imprint on every role she plays – and on her audiences as well.

She had not originally planned to become an actress; she had wanted to study medicine, yet, as she later confessed, she was drawn to the stage by an irresistible force.

“A lack of self-confidence is something that has always been coded into me. I’ve never had enough of it, and even now I don’t feel I have. And yet I longed to be admitted [to the Academy]; but the thought of it felt as if I wanted to reach up to God Himself – I would break into a sweat at the very idea. Acting was always part of my life; I performed in secondary school too, but only instinctively – it didn’t yet mean acting to me. I almost panicked when I became aware that I wanted to apply there.” – she recalled in an interview about the beginnings of her career.

She studied acting between 1966 and 1968 at the Nemzeti Színház Stúdiója (Studio of the National Theatre), and from 1968 to 1972 at the Színház- és Filmművészeti Főiskola (Academy of Theatre and Film Arts, today University of Theatre and Film Arts, Budapest). Even as a student, she was given regular acting opportunities – at the National Theatre in Döglött aknák (lit. Dead Mines) by István Csurka, The Song of the Lusitanian Bogey by Peter Weiss, and Stormy Twilight by Rakhmanov, as well as at the József Attila Theatre in A tizenharmadik ügynök (lit. The Thirteenth Agent) by András Berkesi and The Follies of a Day; or, The Marriage of Figaro by Beaumarchais. She also appeared in films such as Madárkák (Little Birdie), Végre hétfő! (lit. At Last, Monday!), and Szindbád (Sinbad).

Even during her academy years, she resisted being pigeonholed. When asked by director Zsuzsa Simon what “type” she thought she was, Simon replied: “You will play everything.”

Already in this early period, her irresistible femininity became apparent – something that directors, particularly filmmakers, quickly recognised and began to draw upon. In Little Birdie, directed by Géza Böszörményi and Lívia Gyarmathy, she played, while still a student, a bold, self-styled sex symbol. After graduating from the Academy, she spent one season in Debrecen, then in 1973 joined the József Attila Theatre. Here too she was soon “found” by the passionate, temperamental female roles: she played Katherina in The Taming of the Shrew and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. She also took on several major dramatic parts, including Éva in Az ember tragédiája (The Tragedy of Man, by Imre Madách) and Abigail Williams in The Crucible.

Writing of her Katherina, critic László Kolozsvári Papp highlighted the depth and dramatic power of her performance:

“Her acting shows that every gesture is a defence of her existence in the philosophical sense, until she is finally defeated by brute force. This Katherina is far wiser, and consequently her struggle is built upon a preordained, clear opposition between life and death. In Bánsági’s portrayal one senses an inherent sense of sacrifice, which the excellent young actress enriches and renders more credible with a self-irony that takes aim at the world itself,” wrote the critic of Színház (lit. Theatre) magazine.

In 1976 Bánsági joined the Vígszínház (Comedy Theatre of Budapest), where she spent a formative decade of her career. She still feels that this theatre was the one closest to her artistic temperament, though she strove to preserve her openness – the very quality that continued to carry her forward. During her ten years at the Comedy Theatre, she played a succession of outstanding roles: Zsuzsanna in Jó estét nyár, jó estét szerelem (Good Evening, Summer, Good Evening, Love, by Endre Fejes), Irén Visegrádi in Házmestersirató (lit. Janitor’s Lament, by István Csurka), the character “Y” in Deficit by István Csurka, Zilia in A néma levente (The Silent Knight by Jenő Heltai), Hippolyta and Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Queen Elisabeth of Valois in Schiller’s Don Carlos.

The Comedy Theatre was then in a true golden age under the directorship of Zoltán Várkonyi. In 1977 the theatre presented a musical adaptation of Endre Fejes’s novella Good Evening, Summer, Good Evening, Love, directed by László Marton and starring Géza Hegedűs D., Judit Halász, Erzsébet Kútvölgyi, Márta Egri, Judit Hernádi and Ildikó Bánsági. Janitor’s Lament, directed by István Horvai, enjoyed an extraordinary thirteen-year run with a cast including Ilona Béres, Judit Hernádi, Ildikó Bánsági, Sándor Szabó, Gábor Mádi Szabó and Sándor Lukács; the janitor was played by Nóra Tábori, and the writer by László Tahi Tóth.

Of all the directors she worked with at the Comedy Theatre, István Horvai had perhaps the greatest influence on her. It was he who staged Deficit in 1979 – a performance that marked one of her most acclaimed early successes. (Horvai had planned to direct Bánsági in all of Chekhov’s plays, but illness and his death prevented this. Years later, in 2004, Bánsági would play Masha in Three Sisters at the Új Színház [New Theatre], in a production directed by Róbert Alföldi and dedicated to Horvai’s memory.)

In István Csurka’s Deficit, she performed alongside Ilona Béres, Tibor Szilágyi and Gábor Reviczky. The production received an exceptionally positive critical reception, with particular praise for the authenticity of Bánsági’s portrayal.

After ten years at the Comedy Theatre, Bánsági felt the need for change and rejoined the József Attila Theatre. After three seasons, however, she left and became a freelance actress. During the 1990s she performed at the National Theatre, the Művész Theatre, with the Kelemen László Színkör (Kelemen László Theatre Circle) company, and finally at the New Theatre.

Among her memorable roles from this period was that of Veronika in György Schwajda’s Csoda (lit. Miracle), performed at the József Attila Theatre alongside her husband, actor Sándor Gáspár. In the 1990 production directed by Dezső Garas, Bánsági demonstrated her remarkable instinct for the absurd. Around the same time she appeared as Ilma in Mihály Vörösmarty’s Csongor és Tünde (Csongor and Tünde. A Fairy Tale Play in Verse) at the National Theatre. As critic István Sándor L. wrote in Színház magazine (issue 12, 1990):

“Bánsági’s Ilma is marked by a kind of vulgarity ennobled into a cheerful outlook on life.”

The 1990s brought her further varied opportunities: she played Mrs Peachum in The Threepenny Opera at the Művész Theatre, Viola in Twelfth Night, and Bélise in The Learned Women – each role bearing witness to her ageless versatility. She also appeared as Pasqua in Brawling in Chioggia, directed by János Taub and performed by the László Kelemen Theatre Circle, and took on provincial engagements, including in Dunaújváros.

Yet the freelance years also had two darker consequences. In Budapest, some critics began to regard her as an actress in eclipse, and she went through a period of personal crisis. Even so, the 1980s and 1990s brought her remarkable success in film: Mephisto (1981); Napló gyermekeimnek (Diary for My Children, 1982); Egymásra nézve (Another Way, 1982); Hány az óra, Vekker úr? (What’s the Time, Mr Clock?, 1985); Idő van (Time, 1985); Csók, Anyu! (Love, Mother, 1986); Napló szerelmeimnek (Diary for My Lovers, 1987); Hanussen (1988); Jézus Krisztus horoszkópja (Jesus Christ’s Horoscope, 1988); Napló apámnak, anyámnak (Diary for My Father and Mother, 1990); Édes Emma, drága Böbe (Sweet Emma, Dear Böbe, 1992); Roncsfilm (Junk Movie, 1992); and Zsötem (Je t’aime, 1992).

The foremost Hungarian film directors – István Szabó, Márta Mészáros, György Szomjas and Miklós Jancsó – continued to cast her regularly. Although the stage did not always offer her a consistent artistic trajectory (as was the fate of many great actors during the post-1989 transition, when Hungary’s theatre structure fragmented and repertory companies dissolved), cinema provided ample compensation. Through these film roles she matured into those fiery yet delicate, timelessly feminine characters that became her hallmark. A telling example of her expressive power is her brief but unforgettable appearance in Love, Mother, where she delivers a miniature drama as a frustrated teacher coming undone before our eyes.

In the 2000s, Ildikó Bánsági was a frequent presence in productions at the New Theatre, often in comedies that showcased her flair for humour and timing: Ingyenélők (Parasites) by Gergely Csiky, A Flea in Her Ear by Georges Feydeau, Molière’s The Bourgeois Gentleman, and Delila (Delilah) by Ferenc Molnár. She also played Masha in the aforementioned Three Sisters production.

She regards her 2005 guest appearance in Zalaegerszeg as an important milestone. Géza Bereményi adapted Magda Szabó’s novel Az ajtó (The Door) for the stage there, to great acclaim. In portraying the writer, Bánsági found a deep personal and artistic resonance; the work marked, for her, a turning point and a sense of renewal in her career. The audience found her performance captivating, while critics praised its subtlety – a rare case of perfect harmony between artist and audience.

Among her most distinguished roles of the decade was her “reward role” as Julia Lambert in Theatre, adapted from W. Somerset Maugham’s novel and directed by István Verebes at the Szolnok Theatre. Critics also lauded her portrayal of Frosine in Molière’s The Miser. As Dezső Kovács wrote in Színház magazine:

“Bánsági’s Frosine, with her black wig and aggressive wit, is a sly, sharp-tongued madame – an ageing, vehement woman and a foolish, down-at-heel procuress. Her colours gleam, her features exaggerate, but her exuberant vitality effortlessly carries her through every bump and pause.”

Since 2010, Bánsági has continued to perform tirelessly. In recent years she has appeared not only at the New Theatre but also at the Szkéné Theatre (Budapest), the Petőfi Theatre in Sopron, and the Pinceszínház (Cellar Theatre, Budapest). In 2013 she joined the company of the National Theatre. Taking over roles in Attila Vidnyánszky’s newly restructured ensemble, she appeared in A Flea in Her Ear, KZ-oratórium (KZ Oratorio by János Pilinszky), Operett (Operetta by Witold Gombrowicz), Családi kérdés (lit. A Family Affair by Sándor Márai), and A nagyúr (Great Lord by Miklós Bánffy). Among these, her performance in Operetta stands out even with the passing of only a few years, revealing once again her keen sense of style and her long-established affinity for the grotesque, which lent distinctive depth to her characterisation.

Bánsági’s film career has been unbroken since the beginning, and she continues to work regularly with film directors. A new generation has also enlisted her talents: Kriszta Goda, Péter Fazakas, Ferenc Török and Attila Till have all cast her in recent films.

No portrait of her career would be complete without mentioning her extensive work as a dubbing artist: she has lent her voice to more than two hundred films, serving as the Hungarian voice of such leading actresses as Meryl Streep, Kirstie Alley, Diane Keaton, Helen Mirren, Kim Basinger, Mia Farrow, Jessica Lange, Shirley MacLaine and Susan Sarandon.

Throughout her career, Ildikó Bánsági has played virtually the entire spectrum of female roles – one could say, without boundaries. Directors often disregarded her age when casting her, and with good reason: she remains as irresistibly charismatic today as she was at twenty. In one interview she reflected:

“I’ve played queens, elegant women, seductresses, sex goddesses – but never ingénues, even though I’ve always felt naïve myself. Somehow those roles passed me by; they were always just ‘women’. Once the costume designer Fanni Kemenes told me not to be disheartened, but to accept that I would go on playing women until the age of seventy.”

Zsuzsa Simon’s early prediction also proved true: Bánsági became an unclassifiable artist, equally at home in drama, comedy and the absurd. She has often said that she originally wanted to become a doctor, because she wished to help others. In her acting career, too, she has indeed helped others – by gifting countless people with the richness of her art.

[2015]

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