The Budapest 9^th District Council set up a House of Culture in 1962, at Ráday street 5, in the portion of the building facing Török Pál street. The Basement was a separate building, where István Keleti and Éva Mezei could create a crucially important student theatre community. By portraying this story spanning seventeen years, I seek to answer the question – why is it that former members of the student theatre still think of the Basement Theatre as an integral element of their identity.