“Acting is one of the finest manifestations of the human soul,” Miklós Kásler, the human resources minister, said in a video on Facebook, sending his greetings on the occasion to theatres, artists and theatre-loving people.

“In a year overwhelmed by a pandemic we have managed to present our cultural productions on digital platforms to the greatest possible extent with the help of our dedicated and creative professionals,” he said and thanked actors and actresses for their cultural and artistic work in creating value, nurturing traditions and strengthening the nation.

In a post on Facebook, Gergely Karácsony, the mayor of Budapest, regretted that the pandemic has prevented people from going to the theatre and enjoying performances for more than a year.

“This situation is painful for people as an audience, yet, it is more painful for all those who are in the acting profession,” he said, calling on people to support theatres and artists by buying tickets to online performances.

In a joint video posted on Facebook, the directors of 31 theatres in Budapest and cities across the country greeted theatre-loving people marking the international day.

They noted that in the first wave of Hungarian theatre art “a line of theatres” had been built in burgeoning cities across the country from 1823.

In a boom over the following 200 years theatre companies were formed “in Budapest and in almost all county seats in marvelous palaces”.

In his message reflecting on the pandemic situation, Lajos Simon, director of the Zenthe Ferenc Theatre of Salgótarján, said that “in these gripping times we feel that we all belong together and feel even more strongly that theatre cannot exist without an audience, as much as we believe that an audience cannot exist without a theatre either.”