Madách Színház, Budapest, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The Madách Színház (Madách Theatre) is a theatre at Erzsébet körút 29-33 in Budapest, Hungary, named after the playwright Imre Madách. The building stands on the Grand Boulevard in Pest and was a variety hall at the turn of the 20th century, long before it became a stage for plays and musicals.

The story behind it

After the Compromise of 1867, Pest grew fast and became a city of cafes, theatres and nightlife. Budapest even opened a underground railway in 1896, one of the oldest in Europe. This building belongs to that boom: in the late 1800s and early 1900s it housed the Royal Orfeum, a variety theatre where singers, comedians and novelty acts shared one bill.

One of its best-known performers was Pepi Littmann, remembered for an unusually deep voice and for a daring stage persona that played with gender and flirtation. Acts like hers helped make the Orfeum a talking point of the city's nightlife. The hall later changed purpose and today it is home to the Madách Theatre, one of Budapest's well-known houses for drama and musical theatre.

What to look for

• Look up at the street front on Erzsébet körút, where the theatre's name and the posters for current shows tell you what is on stage now.
• Notice how the building sits in a continuous row of tall boulevard houses, a good example of the dense city streets that Pest built in its boom years.
• Check the entrance area for show photographs and billboards, which give a quick sense of the theatre's repertoire.
• Look along the curve of the Grand Boulevard, with its tram line and lively ground-floor shops and cafes, to picture the crowds that once came for an Orfeum evening.

Tips for your visit

• Allow ten to fifteen minutes to look at the exterior and take photos, longer if you plan to see a performance.
• You can go inside by buying a ticket for a show, so check the current programme and booking options before you travel.
• Evening is the best time to come, when the entrance is lit and audiences gather outside.
• The theatre is a short walk from the Jewish Quarter and the area around Király utca, so it combines easily with a wider stroll through central Pest.

See it on a quest

The theatre is one stop on Sweet Tastes of Budapest's Golden Age, a self-guided walk themed around the city's golden age. You reach the Madách Theatre on foot as part of a longer route through the area, the app tells you about the place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle in front of the building. One ticket covers the whole group, and you can start whenever you like, with no guide and no set time.