Kecskeméti Katona József National Theatre celebrates 130th anniversary

The Kecskeméti Katona József National Theatre celebrated its 130th anniversary on October 14, 2026, with the premiere of a production of A. A. Milne’s classic, Winnie the Pooh. Directed by Péter Cseke, the performance coincided with the centenary of the first Winnie the Pooh book, which was originally published on October 14, 1926.

The theatrical production features an ensemble cast including Erik Konfár as Winnie the Pooh and Anna Jankovics as Piglet. Notably, the play is based on the stories from Milne’s first volume, meaning the character Tigger does not appear, as he was introduced in the second book.

The origins of the beloved character are rooted in the real-life experiences of A. A. Milne’s son, Christopher Robin Milne. The stories were inspired by the boy’s stuffed animals and the setting of the Ashdown Forest in South England. The name Winnie was inspired by a bear at the London Zoo, while the name Pooh originally referred to a swan from one of Milne’s earlier poetry collections.