After two years, we are once again delighting the audience with a contemporary Czech theater review. The theme of the sixth year of the festival is BODY. This serves as the starting point for both pieces to be presented, whether it is a reflection on (self) acceptance, the stigmatization of physical disability, or the dysfunction of the body leading to tragic consequences. The protagonists of the plays have to fight not only with themselves, but also with their environment and society as a whole.
Divadlo pod Palmovkou, Prague
FRENKIE THE ARMLESS
3 November, 2023 - 7 PM
A grotesque tale about a boy who couldn’t hug his sweetheart.
The stork that carried him to his parents had bitten off his arms, so Francis was born without them. Nevertheless, he brims with sincere enthusiasm that is totally contagious, even at times when optimism is the only wealth he has left. He learns to do everything a boy needs to do with his feet: to pick up a stone and throw it over the church, to fly a kite, to flick marbles and also to fight. The girls at school are wearing shorter skirts, Frankie has just received an offer from a freak show and more cripples are coming back home from the front. Set against the backdrop of modern Czech history, this pitch black comedy is based on real events. Focusing on the tense moments of Frankie’s life, it tells the story of a stubborn man seeking to break free from his fate and environment in a great fight for human dignity.
DIRECTION: F. X. Kalba
SET: Lenka Odvárková
MUSIC: Ivan Acher a Igor Orozovič
MOVEMENT ASSISTANCE: Marek Zelinka
DRAMATURGY: Ladislav Stýblo
CAST:
Jakub Albrecht/Vojtěch Fülöp, Adam Vacula, Tomáš Dianiška, Barbora Kubátová, Igor Orozovič/Deny Ratajský, Nataša Mikulová, Rosálie Malinská, Jaroslav Blažek, Vendelín Urban, Jakub Kalián, Gabriela Farr, Mária Leherová, Hynek Tajovský
First performance on 30th September 2019.
Městská Divadla Pražská, Prague
Simon Stone: YERMA
4 November, 2023 - 7 PM
Contemporary drama about unbearable desire to have a child.
A radical new version of Federico Garcia Lorca’s masterpiece, set in contemporary London.
Yerma is recognized journalist who ´s been writing a successful blog for thousands of followers. She is in her thirties´, enjoying her balanced relationship with her boyfriend. While the couple celebrates moving to their new flat, she says out loud for the very first time that „it might be nice to have a family“. Despite the initial surprise, her boyfriend agrees with the idea and they both decide to leave it naturally flow. This simple situation slowly destroys the idyllic world of Yerma and slowly destroys her as the desperately wants child that isn´t arriving.
AWARDS
Nina Horáková was nominated for Best Actress for her portrayal of a young woman driven to the unthinkable by her desperate desire to have a child.
DIRECTION: Marián Amsler
SET: Eva Jiříkovská
MUSIC: Ivan Acher
DRAMATURGY: Jana Slouková
CAST:
ONA - Nina Horáková
JOHN - Viktor Dvořák
VIKTOR - Tomáš Havlínek
HELENA - Eva Salzmannová
MARY - Petra Tenorová / Beáta Kaňoková
DES - Renáta Matějíčková
First performance on 10th June 2022 in Rokoko Theater.