What happens when Hungarian poetry comes off the pages of textbooks, steps out of the rigid framework of holiday shows and suddenly finds itself on a summer night near the audience? Péter Tóth's literary stand-up for "Kick me in" is exactly what he tries to do in Fonyód on August 27th.
Péter Tóth has been a poetry-rector, drama educator and "Vervándor" of Hungary and the Hungarian settlements of the Carpathian Basin for many years. He writes poetry in schools, cultural houses, churches, theatres, spaces and sometimes quite unusual locations. One of the most important features of his lectures is that he does not show poetry as a distant, untouchable work of art but as a living language which can still make us laugh, think or even find us unpleasantly.
"Kick me in" is a literary stand-up with the title to indicate that this will not be a traditional, solemn, serious poem. Literature, humor, personal stories and direct contact with the audience are both involved. It does not require a particular degree of literature, nor does it need to be updated in the memory of high school poetry analyses. It is enough to sit down, listen and let the well-known or just discovered lines speak in a different voice, with other accents, and in a whole new medium.
Lórán Tóth was originally a history and physical education teacher, and later continued as a full-time poet. He is working with his disorderly literary performances to ensure that Hungarian poets do not just stay with us as teaching material. For him, the poem is not a text to be learned in response, but a map and compass: an old yet constantly reusable tool for understanding ourselves and each other better.
The venue for the Fonyód presentation will be the outdoor area next to the Szaploncay Café. The summer evening, the unbound environment and the literary stand-up genre together promise a program that can be easily accepted for those who might choose to change tickets to a classical poem less often. In addition, there is no need to change tickets for this: participation is free.
The performance will begin on Thursday, August 27th, 2026 at 19.00 and is expected to take until 20.00. Since we're talking about an outdoor program, it's worth watching the weather that day and arriving a little early to find a comfortable place.
An hour of poetry, stories and humor - for those who love literature and for those who have only heard it from the wrong performer.