Milestone Institution hosts an exceptional theatrical performance, the documentary piece I Stand Up for Myself, performed by the Horizon Group. Directed by Balázs Czukor, this documentary theatre production explores the lives of young people who grew up in children’s homes and managed to break free from the cycle perpetuated by abusive families and the system.
I Stand Up for Myself is a sequel to Horizon Group’s previous play, Stand Up for You, originally performed in 2015. This first piece dramatised the topics of prostitution and human trafficking. Horizon Group aims at providing tangible positive examples, inspiration, and motivation for disadvantaged children, so that they can draw strength from stories similar to their own. This groundbreaking play sheds light on social and societal issues and presents the daily challenges faced by state-raised children through the stories of the characters Norbert, Nádor, and Ramóna. Among the goals of the performance we find the promotion of social inclusion and integration while motivating young people to overcome life’s difficulties.
On the creation of the play and its cast:
Inspiration for the play I Stand Up for Myself comes from twelve in-depth interviews conducted by Yvette Fever, Fruzsina Háda, Judit Kőszegi, Zsuzsanna Száger and Kriszta Urbanovits with children raised in children’s homes who have managed to break free from challenging circumstances. Utilising these materials, recollections, and stories, the script for the documentary theatre was born, which, thanks to the interviewees’ diverse social backgrounds, is particularly rich in language. Directed by Balázs Czukor, the play incorporates fictional dramatic situations to bring the audience closer to the lives of the characters portrayed on stage by Zsuzsanna Száger, Judit Kőszegi, and Fruzsina Háda. The roles of supportive and obstructive adults and peers in the lives of these young individuals are portrayed by Yvette Fever and Kriszta Urbanovits.