Words can hardly express what I have seen and gone through when watching Don’t Hurt Me! by Ballet Company of Győr.

The venue itself was spooky but perfectly chosen for this piece. We have to go deep and descend to the minus 2nd floor of the parking house in Árpád Road. Entering the building, I can see drawings made by children after previous performances. At this point I simply cannot stop and observe them, I am not ready. Not yet… I'm arriving at the minus 2nd floor, shivering. It is dark and cold, the only dim lights come from the installations projected onto the wall and other exhibited pieces.

I’ll leave the exhibition for later too, I don’t want to embrace the dark emotions, I don’t want to think of what is going to happen in the show.

Don’t Hurt Me! talks about domestic violence through the soul-penetrating power of dance. I cannot escape this now, there is no chance to look away and ignore this subject.

Between the cold walls, on stage, everything seems normal, only at first sight though. If we have a better look at the family members, the father (Artem Pozdeev), the mother (Adrienn Matuza) and their daughter (Eszter Adria Herkovics), standing in three separate rooms, it appears that the crack in the family’s union already started.

The girl, in a white dress, is happily dancing with her friends but this sheer joy is overcast by the distant presence of the father who is then taking over.

We can't understand what drives the father to commit abuse. As if he was inhabited by a sort of demon (Daichi Uematsu) as if he was not aware of his actions. However, when we can hear from the recordings what emotional games he is playing to detain his child, it becomes clear that he knows what he is doing.

The mother senses that something is not right, but all her efforts are in vain. In a scene, where she tries to hide her conscience behind a white mask and ignore what is happening at home, it occurred to me that she could have been a victim as well in the past.

Meanwhile, the girl has lost her white dress, symbolising her innocence, she is wearing black now, held captive by demons both in her nightmares and in reality. What’s more, she cannot trust anyone. The movements that used to be friendly and loving turn into something dirty and frightening. It is heartbreaking to see how alone she is!

In László Velekei’s choreography, the violent scenes are created with brutal poetry, the whispers and monologues we can hear are projected onto the movements. And the dancers, intensifying their inner strength to the full, give a stunning performance. 

During the after-show conversation, László Velekei, choreographer, and Alexandra Csepi, dramaturg, told us that the production was based on an enormous amount of research and reading study cases. The words used in the piece come from real life.

The three protagonists, Artem Pozdeev, Adriann Matuza and Adria Eszter Herkovics gave us an insight into how they prepared for this demanding production and how they can let go of the difficult emotions after the show. Katalin Stáhly, representing Hintalovon Foundation for children's rights, described the main signs of child abuse and advised how and where we can ask for support. Bonifác Korda, Kristóf Molnár and Szabolcs Fejes, directing students, argued how important theatre's social responsibility is.

Don’t Hurt Me! doesn’t offer solutions, but its afterlife does. László Velekei shared that they had received numerous drawings from children after the performances, crying for help. He also shared a story of an 11-year-old boy who, after watching the show, gained the courage to ask for support.

The exhibition in the garage approached domestic violence from different angles. On the projected installation, dancers of the Ballet Company Győr presented how the outer world can react in this situation: suspiciously, neutrally, with compassion or scorn. We could listen to conversations behind the doors and there were message boards available where anyone could ask for support.

Going up the staircase, now I am ready to take time and absorbed in every single drawing: I have seen broken hearts, knives, coffins, sad faces, imprisoned souls…

Stepping out, the sunshine and the birdsongs seemed almost surreal. After watching Don’t Hurt Me! nothing can be the same anymore. 

Photos by Béla Szabó