The Microscope Theater in Budapest used to be in a privileged situation during the communism. It was allowed there to laugh at the communist regime openly, the humorists performing there were allowed to banter about the sad truth. People laughed at the jokes and it may have made their lives easier. Perhaps that was the reason why Hungary used to be called „the most cheerful barrack”. The Microscope Theater has become a piece of the past for today. The building itself has not been renovated, so it has preserved the atmosphere of communist times. There are sinking red carpets and paneling all over the place and an indigenous chaos in rooms hidden from the public. Down in the cellar, which used to be a scene-dock, the picture of Lenin was not put on the wall of for this occasion. I think it has been there since the 1970s and nobody has bothered to take it off. The regime has not changed in the cellar.
