Keszthely’s Balaton Theatre presents a series of intimate, provocative, and highly engaging evenings that blend literature, psychology, music, science, and true crime. From whisper-close storytelling and live-composed music to a gleefully interactive takedown of faux-limitless freedom, from AI futures to the darkest corridors of the criminal mind, the program invites you to lean in and stay curious.
January 26: KÖZEL – What Connects Us
Date and time: 2026.01.26., 6:30 p.m. Venue: Balaton Theatre, Main Auditorium. Writer Sarolta Dobray and psychiatrist-composer Dr. György Bánki host KÖZEL – AMI ÖSSZEKÖT, a musical, psychological, literary surprise evening celebrating Dobray’s new short story collection, Közel (Close). Expect a hush of nearness: motherhood, loss, childhood flashes, murmuring moments, and telling gestures — those quicksilver instants we rush past but that reveal whole worlds when we let them in. The night urges a shift of focus from what separates to what binds. Bánki appears not only as a psychiatrist but also as a composer-performer, scoring the stories with his own works and layering them with psychological insights that open unexpected inner rooms. Leave feeling the story continues in you — and that you’re not alone. The book Közel will be on sale at the venue during the event.
February 6: Borderless Frames — A Dead End of Endless Freedom?
Date and time: 2026.02.06., 6:30 p.m. Venue: Balaton Theatre, Main Auditorium. Meet business personality András Moldován live. His interactive talks turn audiences into participants, and the tour for his second book, Határtalan keretek (Borderless Frames), reframes the essential boundaries of individuals and society. Without them, that coveted total freedom becomes a dark cul-de-sac. Come for a thought-provoking, highly entertaining evening and hear the star investor from Cápák között (Shark Tank) in person.
February 11: Scientific Stand-Up — Symbiosis with AI
Date and time: 2026.02.11., 7:00 p.m. Venue: Balaton Theatre. Mathematician, psychologist, publicist, and former AI researcher Dr. László Mérő asks: Where does AI research truly stand in the 21st century? Should we fear proliferating machine minds? How do our engineered intelligent systems shape today and the runway ahead? Are Hollywood nightmares about takeovers or the technological singularity justified? Mérő surveys multiple perspectives on artificial intelligences (everything but the pure tech), mapping the imagined future we’re already inhabiting — and charging toward — while probing the psychological and even physiological effects of artificial consciousness on individuals.
February 28: Human Beasts — Inside Serial Killer Minds
Date and time: 2026.02.28., 7:00 p.m. Venue: Balaton Theatre, Main Auditorium. Ticket: $15.50. A rare double act: former top homicide detective Péter Doszpot and consulting forensic psychologist Gábor Antal trace the shadow-stitched world of serial murder. Who are they, really? What churns beneath, and what drives their brutal, bizarre acts? How does a psychopath think — and is treatment possible? What investigative instincts crack these cases, and where do killers slip? Film clips and real cases show how policing and psychology intertwine across infamous Hungarian and international files. Is childhood trauma necessary? What does science say — and fieldwork? Two experts, two vantage points, one singular night.
March 10: Tweens and Teens — Connecting Well Today
Date and time: 2026.03.10., 6:00 p.m. Venue: Balaton Theatre, Main Auditorium. Ticket: $11.80. Psychologist, trainer, and university lecturer Dr. Annamária Kádár brings Kiskamaszok és kamaszok – Milyenek ők ma, és hogyan kapcsolódjunk velük jól? (Tweens and Teens — What They’re Like Today, and How to Connect Well) to Keszthely, presented by Open Academy (Nyitott Akadémia). Parents and educators receive grounded guidance on building better bridges with the next generation.
