They were brought together by the writer István Örkény, whom the theatre was named after in 2004 and who worked at Egis (known as EGYT at that time) between 1958 and 1963. 
2023 is a jubilee year for Egis, in February it was 110 years to date that the company was registered as Dr Wander Pharmaceuticals and Nutriments Ltd. When Mr Sándor Balla set up the company with the Swiss dr Albert Wander, he had big plans. Surely, back in 1913, only a few people would have predicted to see some of the characteristic buildings of the factory still standing on the Keresztúri street 110 years later. What is more, the company, renamed United Pharmaceuticals and Nutriments Production (National) Company in 1950, became one of the leading companies of the Hungarian pharmaceutical industry in the 1960s. It has maintained this position ever since, as Egis though, after another name change in 1985. 
István Örkény was a significant figure of the Hungarian literature in the 20th century. How is his life connected to the history of the long-established Hungarian pharmaceutical company? For expressing his solidarity with the uprising in 1956 Örkény was banned and deprived of the opportunities to publish his works. The writer came to the factory in Kőbánya as a political exile. Being a qualified pharmacist and chemical engineer, he was on the payroll at EGYT for five years before he could return in the world of literature. It was during these years that he developed his unique vision and his characteristic grotesque style.
The pharmaceutical company and the Örkény theatre run several projects to pay tribute to the memory of the writer. An excerpt of a special video interview conducted with playwright Zsuzsa Radnóti, the widow of István Örkény was presented at the joint press conference on April 5, the 111th anniversary of the writer's birth. A short story writing contest will soon be launched, the organizers are expecting entries created in the spirit of Örkény's One Minute stories. 
The press conference was also an opportunity to open an exceptional exhibition in the foyer of the theatre, which gives an insight into István Örkény's years spent at the company in Kőbánya. The documents on display evoke this little-known period of the writer's life, reviving the special atmosphere of the late fifties and early sixties. 
The uniqueness of the partnership between the theatre and the pharmaceutical company was also emphasized by Csaba Poroszlai, CEO of Egis Pharmaceuticals PLC.  “Just like István Örkény was a writer and a chemical engineer, pharmacist, and artist in one person, we also wish to bring these two fields closer to each other. István Örkény's career and his well-known works prove that unexpected pairings can sometimes create exceptional works” – he said. “Örkény is special for us, because at Egis we respect him not only for being the author of the One Minute short stories, but also as a former colleague.” 
Pál Mácsai, director of the Örkény Theatre recounted: “During the years he was condemned to silence Örkény found an environment of solidarity in the factory, so much so that in the last years of the “exile” he was able to write regularly, even if he wrote only for the drawer. He wrote the first one-minute short stories and the first versions of Cat's Play and The Tót Family. This paradoxical period is presented in the exhibition.”  
The exhibition can be visited in the foyer of the theatre till April 4, 2024.