Keszthely’s Balaton Theatre has packed the calendar with smart talks, intimate literary nights, big-idea debates, a globe-trotting club, and a chilling dive into criminal psychology. Most events are free, and all are ready for a curious crowd in the Simándy Room or the main auditorium.
Taiwan’s Miracle Economy and Hungarian Footprints
Date: 2025.11.26, 18:00
Duration: 1 hour
Venue: Balaton Theatre, Simándy Room
Admission: Free
Geographer and historian of science János Kubassek unpacks Taiwan, the Far East’s “miracle economy,” and the traces Hungarians left there. It’s part of the joint public lecture series Open Eyes on the Wide World by the Pelso Society and the Goldmark Károly Cultural Center. Expect a dynamic hour that blends economic transformation, cultural memory, and the ways Hungarian connections show up in surprising places.
World Traveler Club: French Polynesia and the Marquesas
Date: 2025.12.01, 18:00
Venue: Balaton Theatre, Simándy Room
Admission: Free
December’s World Traveler Club is heading straight for turquoise: French Polynesia’s shimmering lagoons, the coral crown encircling Taha’a Island—often called one of the most beautiful reefs on Earth—and underwater encounters with dolphins, sharks, and rays. Presenter Balázs Buzás brings the sights, stories, and salt-spray detail. Dive in without getting wet.
Close – A Literary Night with Sarolta Dobray and Dr. György Bánki
Date: 2026.01.26, 18:30
Venue: Balaton Theatre, Main Auditorium
A tender, music-laced evening marking the release of Sarolta Dobray’s new short story collection Közel (Close). The night leans in on life’s finest tremors—motherhood, loss, childhood memories, whisper-thin moments, tiny gestures that open whole worlds if we dare to let them near. The invitation is simple: stop staring at what separates us and look at what holds us together. Psychiatrist, composer, and performer Dr. György Bánki joins not only with psychological insights but with his own music, scoring the stories and unlocking other layers in the audience. Come for an intimate experience that doesn’t end with the last word. The book Közel (Close) will be available for purchase on-site during the event.
Boundless Frames – A Dead End Called Total Freedom?
Date: 2026.02.06, 18:30
Venue: Balaton Theatre, Main Auditorium
Meet entrepreneur and speaker András Moldován live. His interactive talk series, drawn from his second book Határtalan keretek (Boundless Frames), reframes the rules we need—personally and socially—to avoid the seductive cul-de-sac of absolute freedom. Expect audience participation, provocation, and entertainment. Fans of the show Cápák között (Shark Tank Hungary) will recognize him as a star investor, now taking ideas further on stage.
Scientific Stand-Up: László Mérő on Symbiosis with AI
Date: 2026.02.11, 19:00
Venue: Balaton Theatre
Where is AI research headed in the 21st century? Should we worry about proliferating machine minds? Mathematician, psychologist, publicist, and former AI researcher Dr. László Mérő explores the many non-technical viewpoints on artificial intelligence—how intelligent machines and programs shape our days and the future barreling toward us, and whether Hollywood’s nightmares about takeover or the technological singularity are justified. He’ll probe the imagined future we already live in and the psychological and even physiological effects an engineered artificial mind may have on individuals.
Human Beasts – Inside the Minds of Serial Killers
Date: 2026.02.28, 19:00
Venue: Balaton Theatre, Main Auditorium
Ticket: 5,500 HUF
Former top homicide investigator Péter Doszpot and consulting psychologist Gábor Antal present an exclusive evening tracking serial killers. Who are they, really? What drives those warped impulses toward cruel, bizarre acts? How does a psychopath think—and can they be treated? What investigative instincts crack their cases, and where do they slip up? Through film clips and real cases, the duo weaves together policing and psychology across infamous Hungarian and international crimes from the 20th century to today. Do childhood traumas make a killer—or not? Science and field experience trade notes for answers to the darkest questions. Two experts, two viewpoints, one uniquely unsettling night.
