Hungarian director and dramatist. After having studied Acting at the College of Performing Arts in Budapest, Géza Balogh studied at the Academy of Arts (AMU) in Prague (see DAMU – Divadelní fakulta akademie múzických umění) where he received a diploma in puppetry directing and literary management under the teaching authority of Erik Kolár and Jan Malík. Starting from 1963, with several periods of absence due to his work in live theatre, he was hired as stage director at the Állami Bábszínház (State Puppet Theatre). After 1992, he worked at the Budapest Bábszínház (Budapest Puppet Theatre).

Géza Balogh’s most important productions are: Rózsa és Ibolya (Rózsa and Ibolya, 1978, 1992) by János Arany and József Gáli; Az orr (The Nose, 1979) by János Decsényi adapted from the short story by Nikolai Gogol; Pedro mester bábszínháza (Master Peter’s Puppet Show, 1982) by Manuel de Falla; Übü király (King Ubu, 1985) based on Ubu roi of Alfred Jarry; A dzsungel könyve (The Jungle Book, 1991) by Rudyard Kipling; Egy kiállítás képei (Pictures from an Exhibition, 1993) with music by Modest Mussorgsky; Szent Miklós csodája (Miracle of Saint Nicholas, 1994) by Jean Bodel; Szofi és Habó (The Big Friendly Giant, 1996) by Roald Dahl; A zsiráfnyakú cica (The Cat with a Giraffe Neck, 1998) by István Kormos; A kékszakállú herceg vára (Bluebeard’s Castle, 2004) by Béla Bartók.

In his productions Balogh employed a variety of types of puppets and masks that focused on the actor and puppet-object relationship; he also developed the possibility of a puppet-only theatre.

Géza Balogh was in charge of editing Bábszínház, 1949-1999 (Puppet Theatre, 1949-1999), published in 2000 in Budapest. He was awarded the Mari Jászai prize in 1982.

During the period 1964-1994, Géza Balogh also worked as researcher for the Hungarian Theatre Institute, and as a critic, essayist, and translator. Since 1970, he has also taught at the Állami Studio and, since 1998, at the University of Fine Arts. From 2000 to 2004 he was a member of the UNIMA Executive Committee and president of UNIMA-Hungary from 2004 to 2008.

(See Hungary.)