TALKING WITH ANGELS: Budapest, 1943 is a one act play adapted for the stage and performed by Shelley Mitchell. —It tells the true story of four close-knit artists in war torn Hungary, and their encounter with the miraculous.
Over a period of 17 months, Gitta Mallasz, Lili Strauss, Joseph Kreutzer and Hanna Dallos held weekly meetings every Friday afternoon. During these meetings, Hanna received channeled messages from four entities –four distinctly different personalities– who spoke through her and gave counsel and comfort to the quartet. In 1976, Gitta Mallasz, the only survivor of the group, turned the transcripts from these meetings into the book TALKING WITH ANGELS, which Shelley Mitchell then adapted into this critically acclaimed solo performance.

“…A portrayal with such leisurely, lifelike timing,…Mitchell transforms into something between a dancer and a shaman. ..Its excruciating beauty derives from its simplicity, its purity and the veracity of its harrowing stories.”
STEVEN LEIGH MORRIS, LA WEEKLY

“Mitchell switches seamlessly between the aged Mallasz and the grace of the seraphs, interspersing ethereal matters with the more earthly concern of the ever-increasing danger of living in Nazi-occupied Hungary… Mitchell’s consummate skill as a performer illuminates this thoughtful combination of human bravery and the divine.”
IRISH THEATRE MAGAZINE

“Talking with Angels is a tour de force by Shelley Mitchell. Solo on a bare stage with just mind, body, imagination and chutzpa to sustain her, she morphs herself through different characters and creates a marvelous ensemble drama out of thin air. Its a wonder to behold.”
CARROLL BALLARD, FILMMAKER
(The Black Stallion, Fly Away Home)

This video was filmed at the Edinburgh Arts Festival in 2015