Janos Nyiri
Encyclopedia
János Nyíri was born on November 9, 1932 in Budapest
. He died in London
on October 23, 2002[1]. He was a theatre director, journalist
and writer
. He wrote several highly acclaimed plays and novels, including “Battlefields and Playgrounds” (Macmillan, London
, 1990), recognized by The Observer
as the most important novel written by a survivor of the Holocaust[7][8].
, 1949). Nyíri’s parents divorced when he was a small boy, and János went to live on his grandparents’ vineyard in rural Tokaj
. At the beginning of World War II, he went into hiding from the Nazis and Hungarian anti-Semites, with his mother and his older brother, András Nyíri. While most of his family and classmates were murdered in the Auschwitz and Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camps, Nyiri survived and was liberated by the Red Army in May 1945. After his military service and officer training as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Hungarian Army, Nyíri completed his studies at the Szinház Filmmüvészeti Föiskola, the Academy of Cinema and Dramatic Art in Budapest
in 1954, and rose to fame as a theatre director, in Kecskemét, Szeged, and Budapest.
of 1973, when he was commissioned by the New Statesman
to return to his native country and write an article, which was published under the title "A Chilly Spring In Budapest"[3].
During the nineteen fifties, Nyíri settled in Paris and started working in the theatre again, with such respected dramatists as Eugène Ionesco
, Jean Anouilh
and Jean Genet
. Nyíri also taught at the Conservatoire and studied at the Comédie-Française
. Having secured a position as assistant director to Jean-Louis Barrault
at the Odéon, he met his future wife, Jenny Hippisley, the daughter of British actors Lindisfarne Hamilton and Christopher Quest, and the great–granddaughter (on her mother’s side of the family) of Heinrich Simon, the Jewish scientist, social democrat and leader of the Frankfurt revolutionary parliament of 1848. The Nyíris founded their first theatre company together, Le Jeune Théâtre de Marseille, in 1960. For several years, Nyíri directed successful stage productions of classic French and English plays by Molière
, Beaumarchais, Jean Racine
and Oscar Wilde
, and went on to adapt David Copperfield
in Marseille and The Imaginary Invalid at the Vaudeville Theatre
in London's West End
. He also directed The Marriage of Figaro
, Phèdre
, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
and his own works, all over Europe. During this time he and his wife established their family home in southwest London. He and his wife continued to spend time in their homes in England, Ireland and France until his death.
and Prague
», which caused some controversy, in the sensitive political climate, coming so soon after the Paris
riots of 1968. The original Paris production was entitled “Le ciel est en bas”, and presented at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in 1970. The play was both a critical and commercial success, with subsequent stage productions in major theatres as far afield as Austria, Germany, England, Scotland, Wales, Australia, the United States, and even in Hungary,[6] over the following thirty years. Nyíri's work was often adapted for the screen, in England, Germany, and Hungary[6]. In 1980 If Winter Comes was turned into a television film for BBC Films
[5], starring Paul Scofield
, Denis Lawson
and Cherie Lunghi
.
against the Soviet occupation of the nineteen fifties. “Streets” was on most book of the year lists for 1979 and quickly attracted critical success. His second novel “Battlefields and Playgrounds”[7][8], was ten years in the writing. “Battlefields and Playgrounds” (Macmillan, London
and Farrar, Straus and Giroux
, New York
) has been published in several languages[9][10][11], all over the world. His third novel, "Heroes' Welcome", is set in Spain, France and England during the nineteen sixties. It was completed in 2002, shortly before his death.
It was his second novel, of which the Wall Street Journal wrote: "Although hardly a month passes without some new account surfacing about a writer’s childhood during the Holocaust, nothing in recent memory approaches the greatness — the narrative beauty, the sublime character portraits and the cliff-hanging tension and drama — of Battlefields and Playgrounds”. The Boston Globe praised the book as: "a panorama of historic events, a cross-section of society’s attitudes at the point of an ultimate test of its values, an exploration of a growing child’s consciousness, a story of a family’s struggle to survive, a dramatic novel of suspense, is also, perhaps most importantly, a treatise on the nature and limits of liberty… At the same time, it is a gigantic portion of what we all… secretly dream of finding in any novel: a riveting story, an engaging protagonist, an enthralling narrative, a convincing portrayal of a human predicament". “Battlefields and Playgrounds" was also Book of the Year in the Financial Times
and chosen by Publisher’s Weekly as one of the best books of 1995 in the USA .
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. He died in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on October 23, 2002[1]. He was a theatre director, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. He wrote several highly acclaimed plays and novels, including “Battlefields and Playgrounds” (Macmillan, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, 1990), recognized by The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
as the most important novel written by a survivor of the Holocaust[7][8].
Early life
János Nyíri’s parents were Tibor Nyíri [1][2] [13] and Julia Spitz, respected Hungarian Jewish writers. His father’s most famous work was the novel "Katona, Karacsony" and the screenplay of the Hungarian film "Diszmagyar” (“Gala Suit”)(BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, 1949). Nyíri’s parents divorced when he was a small boy, and János went to live on his grandparents’ vineyard in rural Tokaj
Tokaj
Tokaj , is a historical town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, 54 kilometers from county capital Miskolc. It is the centre of the famous Tokaj-Hegyalja wine district where the world famous Tokaji wine is produced.- History :...
. At the beginning of World War II, he went into hiding from the Nazis and Hungarian anti-Semites, with his mother and his older brother, András Nyíri. While most of his family and classmates were murdered in the Auschwitz and Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camps, Nyiri survived and was liberated by the Red Army in May 1945. After his military service and officer training as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Hungarian Army, Nyíri completed his studies at the Szinház Filmmüvészeti Föiskola, the Academy of Cinema and Dramatic Art in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
in 1954, and rose to fame as a theatre director, in Kecskemét, Szeged, and Budapest.
Move to France
Shortly after the failed Hungarian Uprising against Soviet occupation in 1956, Nyíri decided to escape to Vienna, and later to Paris, instead of staying in Hungary and facing a probable death sentence, which was the fate of many of his fellow revolutionaries. Nyíri was forbidden to return to Hungary until the amnestyAmnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
of 1973, when he was commissioned by the New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
to return to his native country and write an article, which was published under the title "A Chilly Spring In Budapest"[3].
During the nineteen fifties, Nyíri settled in Paris and started working in the theatre again, with such respected dramatists as Eugène Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco was a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist, and one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd...
, Jean Anouilh
Jean Anouilh
Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1943 play Antigone, an adaptation of Sophocles' Classical drama, that was seen as an attack on Marshal Pétain's...
and Jean Genet
Jean Genet
Jean Genet was a prominent and controversial French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but later took to writing...
. Nyíri also taught at the Conservatoire and studied at the Comédie-Française
Comédie-Française
The Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theaters in France. It is the only state theater to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris....
. Having secured a position as assistant director to Jean-Louis Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault was a French actor, director and mime artist, training that served him well when he portrayed the 19th-century mime Jean-Gaspard Deburau in Marcel Carné's 1945 film Les Enfants du Paradis .Jean-Louis Barrault studied with Charles Dullin in whose troupe he acted...
at the Odéon, he met his future wife, Jenny Hippisley, the daughter of British actors Lindisfarne Hamilton and Christopher Quest, and the great–granddaughter (on her mother’s side of the family) of Heinrich Simon, the Jewish scientist, social democrat and leader of the Frankfurt revolutionary parliament of 1848. The Nyíris founded their first theatre company together, Le Jeune Théâtre de Marseille, in 1960. For several years, Nyíri directed successful stage productions of classic French and English plays by Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
, Beaumarchais, Jean Racine
Jean Racine
Jean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...
and Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
, and went on to adapt David Copperfield
David Copperfield (novel)
The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery , commonly referred to as David Copperfield, is the eighth novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a novel in 1850. Like most of his works, it originally appeared in serial...
in Marseille and The Imaginary Invalid at the Vaudeville Theatre
Vaudeville Theatre
The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on The Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous...
in London's West End
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
. He also directed The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
, Phèdre
Phèdre
Phèdre is a dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Jean Racine, first performed in 1677.-Composition and premiere:...
, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is a short book by novelist Muriel Spark, the best known of her works. It first saw publication in The New Yorker magazine and was published as a book by Macmillan in 1961. The character of Miss Jean Brodie brought Spark international fame and brought her into the...
and his own works, all over Europe. During this time he and his wife established their family home in southwest London. He and his wife continued to spend time in their homes in England, Ireland and France until his death.
Life as a playwright
If Winter Comes, a love story set "somewhere behind the iron curtain", was Nyíri’s first outing as a playwright. He personally directed the first few productions of all his plays, and dedicated “If Winter Comes” to his « comrades of BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
and Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
», which caused some controversy, in the sensitive political climate, coming so soon after the Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
riots of 1968. The original Paris production was entitled “Le ciel est en bas”, and presented at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in 1970. The play was both a critical and commercial success, with subsequent stage productions in major theatres as far afield as Austria, Germany, England, Scotland, Wales, Australia, the United States, and even in Hungary,[6] over the following thirty years. Nyíri's work was often adapted for the screen, in England, Germany, and Hungary[6]. In 1980 If Winter Comes was turned into a television film for BBC Films
BBC Films
BBC Films is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including An Education, StreetDance 3D, Fish Tank, Stage Beauty, A Cock and Bull Story, Nativity! and Match Point.It aims to make strong British films with...
[5], starring Paul Scofield
Paul Scofield
David Paul Scofield, CH, CBE , better known as Paul Scofield, was an English actor of stage and screen...
, Denis Lawson
Denis Lawson
Denis Stamper Lawson is a Scottish actor and director. He is known for his roles as John Jarndyce in the BBC's adaptation of Bleak House and as Gordon Urquhart in the film Local Hero, but is best known for playing the part of Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy.-Early life:Lawson was...
and Cherie Lunghi
Cherie Lunghi
Cherie M. Lunghi is an English film, television and theatre actress. She is probably best known for her role as Guinevere in the 1981 film Excalibur, as football manageress Gabriella Benson in the 1990s television series The Manageress and for starring in a series of adverts for Kenco coffee. She...
.
Novels
Nyíri’s first novel to be published in English, "Streets"'(Wildwood House, London)[4], was widely praised in the British press, for its depiction of the Hungarian RevolutionHungarian Revolution
Hungarian Revolution may refer to:* The Hungarian Revolution of 1848.* The Hungarian Revolution of 1919, which led to the formation of the Hungarian Soviet Republic headed by Béla Kun.* The Hungarian Revolution of 1956....
against the Soviet occupation of the nineteen fifties. “Streets” was on most book of the year lists for 1979 and quickly attracted critical success. His second novel “Battlefields and Playgrounds”[7][8], was ten years in the writing. “Battlefields and Playgrounds” (Macmillan, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Farrar, Straus and Giroux is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger W. Straus, Jr. and John C. Farrar. Known primarily as Farrar, Straus in its first decade of existence, the company was renamed several times, including Farrar, Straus and Young and Farrar, Straus and Cudahy...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
) has been published in several languages[9][10][11], all over the world. His third novel, "Heroes' Welcome", is set in Spain, France and England during the nineteen sixties. It was completed in 2002, shortly before his death.
It was his second novel, of which the Wall Street Journal wrote: "Although hardly a month passes without some new account surfacing about a writer’s childhood during the Holocaust, nothing in recent memory approaches the greatness — the narrative beauty, the sublime character portraits and the cliff-hanging tension and drama — of Battlefields and Playgrounds”. The Boston Globe praised the book as: "a panorama of historic events, a cross-section of society’s attitudes at the point of an ultimate test of its values, an exploration of a growing child’s consciousness, a story of a family’s struggle to survive, a dramatic novel of suspense, is also, perhaps most importantly, a treatise on the nature and limits of liberty… At the same time, it is a gigantic portion of what we all… secretly dream of finding in any novel: a riveting story, an engaging protagonist, an enthralling narrative, a convincing portrayal of a human predicament". “Battlefields and Playgrounds" was also Book of the Year in the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
and chosen by Publisher’s Weekly as one of the best books of 1995 in the USA .
Legacy
János Nyíri is survived by his wife, Jenny, a brother and sister, a son and daughter, and six grandchildren.Further reading
- [Ref 1] "The Imaginary Invalid" (Theatre Programme), Vaudeville, London, 1968
- [Ref 2] "Le Ciel est En Bas" L'Athénée,(Theatre Programme), Paris, 1970
- [Ref 3] "The New Statesman" (Magazine Article), London, 1973
- [Ref 4] "Streets" (Book), Wildwood House, London, 1979
- [Ref 5] "If Winter Comes" (Film), BBC, London, 1980
- [Ref 6] "Ha Már Itt A Tél" (Film), Magyar Televizio/MaFilm, Budapest, 1985
- [Ref 7] "Battlefields and Playgrounds" (Book), Macmillan, London, 1989
- [Ref 8] "Battlefields and Playgrounds" (Book), Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1992
- [Ref 9] "Madarorszag" (Book), Magyar Kiado, Budapest, 1993
- [Ref 10] "Awakening The Day". (Book), Tel Aviv, 1993
- [Ref 11] "Die Juden Schule" (Book), Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt, 1993
- [Ref 12] Tibor Nyíri Biography http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1442285/
- [Ref 13] Daniel Nyiri Biography http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0638694/bio
- [Ref 14] Janos Nyiri Biography http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2274476/bio
- [Ref 15] Janos Nyiri Biography http://www.amazon.com/Janos-Nyiri/e/B000APV3V0
External links
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1442285/
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0638694/bio
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2274476/bio
- http://www.amazon.com/Janos-Nyiri/e/B000APV3V0
- http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article835506.ece
- http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/fiction/janos-nyiri/battlefields-and-playgrounds