Magyar Posta is issuing a promotional personalised stamp to celebrate Szigligeti Theatre in Szolnok. Thirty-five thousand copies of the philatelic novelty made by printing on the label part of the Your Own Stamp personalised stamp were produced by the banknote printing company Pénzjegynyomda. It can be purchased at Filaposta and designated post offices or ordered from Magyar Posta’s online store from 16 September 2022.
The first theatre performance in Szolnok was held in the winter of 1822, but at that The first theatre performance in Szolnok was held in the winter of 1822, but at that time only a barn provided the venue for travelling companies. On 20 April 1912, a new theatre building was inaugurated. It was designed by the Budapest architects Frigyes Spiegel and Károly Englerth, and constructed in less than a year by local masons under the direction of Antal Bede, a contractor from Szolnok. As early as the 1920s, the Szolnok Municipal Theatre needed renovation, which was carried out in 1926 and 1927. The building was seriously damaged during the Second World War. In 194647, the most necessary repairs were done, and the institution operated as a host theatre for the locality, in conjunction with the Kecskemét company until 1949, and later with the Békéscsaba company between 1952 and 1954. In 1954, an independent company was founded. The theatre adopted the name of the dramatist Ede Szigligeti when it became independent in 1954. By the 1960s, another reconstruction became necessary. These works were completed in 1963, and the partially reconstructed theatre opened with Ede Szigligeti’s comedy Young Lily. In 1989, the building was declared unsafe and underwent a complete restoration, both internally and externally.
The architectural designer of this project was Mária Siklós and the interior designer was Gábor Schinagl. The new theatre was inaugurated on 11 April 1990. In September 2018, another decision was made to carry out a renovation of the building, which was completed in 2022. (Source: szigligeti.com, wikipedia.org)
The main facade of the Szigligeti Theatre in Szolnok appears on the label of the stamp. In the background of the first day cover, the auditorium and the chandelier form the graphic composition, while the foreground features a full-length statue of the renowned playwright and stage director the theatre is named after, Ede Szigligeti, by the sculptor Gábor Benő Pogány. The postmark features the theatre's logo.
