The Flying Babies

Surely everyone knows that feeling. A ballon rising up into the air, we are holding on to it by a string and all of a sudden it is gone. It keeps floating up, slowly getting smaller until it completely disappears in the sky. What can you do, tears don´t help …

The heroes of our story find themselfs in a similar situation. Instead of moaning and wailing, however, they undertake an adventurous journey to the Planet of lost balloons. Several attempts to take off and fly bring the fate of „Those Wonderful Men in their Flying Machines“ to mind. The age-old dream of flying comes true. Will our aeronauts manage to reach destination: The Planet of lost balloons?

We ride the wings of fantasy to the endless distances of outer space! This original performance combines elements of clownery, puppetry and visual theatre. It plays up to childlike fantasy and inspires the smallest members of the audience to play new games.

The Golden Fish

The original production based on the classical fairy tale about a fish who in exchange for freedom grants wishes and follies to those ignorant of what they want to wish. A rivulet rises from the ground in the mountains. As it hurtles down the hills, it confluences with other rills to create a stronger and greater stream, eventually growing into a mighty river. Even the river does not stop and it ultimately hurtles further to reach the sea, so large one cannot see its other end. Every day early in the morning, the see witnesses a fisherman in his bark setting off in hope for good catch. Yet, the sea is unfathomable: at once it appears as friendly as an old friend only to immediately storm and punish those not taking it seriously. Water can both give and take. And the sea means a lot water…

The War of the Buttons

The story of a boyish war between two village gangs set against the backdrop of a real war.  How does a children’s game mirror the adult world, and what does it reveal about it? What continually fuels their mutual hatred rooted in grudges no one remembers?

Though The War of the Buttons takes place over a century ago, its message remains deeply relevant. By bringing adult conflicts into a children’s setting,  Louis Pergaud, its author, insightfully highlights the absurdity of war and the irrational reasons behind it. He has thus created a miniature world where social issues are unmistakably clear: fear of otherness, the need to create enemies, social and gender (in)equality, the uncritical adoption of established patterns, raising children with old wrongs, domestic violence, and much more. These issues remain highly relevant and provide an excellent starting point for sensitive discussions with children.

Director Šimon Spišák’s adaptation draws on the book’s core metaphor, where strength is symbolized by an ordinary button. The absence of the button representing war capital naturally leads to nakedness, both figuratively and literally exposing the enemy to the bone, making fighting impossible. In the world of our child heroes, strength is measured in the most mundane way possible, following the example of their fathers, by physical ability. With a generous dose of humour and exaggeration, the production asks whether there is any escape from this cycle.

Please note that during the performance, child characters occasionally use vulgar language. This choice is not purposeless;  it serves to authentically portray the passion of the young heroes within their imaginary world of play.

In the media:

“Šimon Spišák and Barbora Kamenická Pokorná came up with a combination of a highly entertaining, playful, and alienating spectacle with straightforwardly didactic moments. (…) The didacticism of The War of the Buttons is acknowledged but at the same time cleverly dosed not to become obnoxiously violent. This is because it refers with amused exaggeration to a theatrical situation just seen, which might otherwise have passed for a simple joke. It can also be seen more broadly: if I am correct, Drak is consistently involved in this type of production, and they seem to be well aware of what they are doing.”

Vladimír Mikulka, 13. 10. 2024, nadivadlo.blogspot.com

 

Amundsen kontra Scott

It is year 1910 and the British seafarer and polar explorer Robert Scott has left on a trip to follow his lifelong dream, reaching the South Pole. But a terse telegram from another renowned conqueror of arctic  lands, the Norwegian Roal Amundsen, awaits him at a stopover in New Zealand: „Beg leave to inform you Fram proceeding Antarctic, Amundsen.“ This is considered to bet he beginning of the race to bet he first to reach a place lying somewhere far away in an inhospitable wasteland, a place that is nothing in the middle of nowhere…

Our production tells the tale of Scott’s journey as it was recorded in his thrilling diary and i tis a tribute to one great defeat. The fate of Robert F. Scott is proof that even he who loses can still remain unvanquished.

Faust

For the sixtieth anniversary of its existence, Drak Theatre has prepared a unique production, which presents the entire troupe and brings to mind the nomadic, carnival roots of our theatre. The theme of Faust is inextricably connected to the puppet theatre. The tale of a scholar, who sells his soul to the devil so that he would nally nd satisfaction in this world, has seen countless marionette variations, including the most celebrated of them all, which was played by the legendary Matěj Kopecký. It is this version of his that became the basis for a production that not only looks back to our predecessors from the ranks of folk puppeteers, but also to the best traditions of our own theatre, and confronts them with the expectations of today. In baroque contrasts, straddling between a farce and a tragedy, decadence and morality, we present a theatre of the world, both small and large, just like the small and large world of the theatre.

Poppy Seed Boy

Once upon a time there was a little old grandmother who was so poor , that all she had was a small cottage with a grandfather in it. And there was also a grandfather who also had nothing more than a small cottage and a grandmother . Even though they had so little, their lives were relatively happy . Until one day a poppy seed came to their home…

The Journey

The original The Journey production explores the theme of initiation journey which is present in American literature from Mark Twain and Jack London, through Jack Kerouac to Cormac McCarthy and its aim is to mediate this phenomenon (described e.g. by Joseph John Campbell) to current coming-of age audiences. Our hero (we call him Jack, referring to the duo of vagabond-authors London-Kerouac) is a literature student fed up with overly theoretical studies completely detached from real life and creativity. He is sick of conformist city life and predictable prospects rooted in the American dream. So he decides to escape such presence and future: he packs his stuff and hits the road. Hitchhiking, he meets his counterpart, Huck (echoing Huckelberry Finn, the first famous vagrant in history of American literature), a free-spirited, spontaneous homeless tramp. The two are joined by the third member – Carolyne, a girl who runs away from her fiancé and the upcoming wedding. The three set out for San Francisco – the westernmost outpost with the reputation of free paradise. Via the drivers giving them lift, they experience a rich portrayal of the society. They encounter pragmatism of an insurance agent, explicit racism of a Southern farmer, proud patriotism of a veteran, or a pensive fatalism of a Native American descendant. Simultaneously, they experience alcohol and drug intoxication; they develop erotic relationships as well as a firm spiritual bond which makes them determined to spend their entire life on tour. Yet, the originally playful fooling around grows into dangerous balancing on the verge of law as well as of self-destruction. They step over the borderline once and end up in prison, where they meet an old vagrant – an image of their possible future. This experience affects each of them differently, which ultimately leads to their separation. Therefore, they never reach San Francisco (which becomes their unfulfilled dream destination). Carolyne returns to her fiancé, Huck continues in his wanderings, whereas Jack sets out for a different, symbolic journey – a journey of his own creativity. In the media: “The Journey, the new production in the studio of Hradec Králové’s Drak Theatre from director Jakub Vašíček and dramaturge Tomáš Jarkovský, is highly playful and an actor’s and musician’s tour de force aimed at teenagers. It aims at them with American literature, music and the jazz poetry of the beat generation.” “It is perhaps better to not reveal the strength of some of the scenes on Kamil Bělohlávek’s stage, where the audience members sit across from each another, or the magic of Daniel Čámský’s musical motifs. The Journey can be highly recommended, and not only for school. It may be wishful thinking that the play would kindle interest in the students to read the American classics of the 50s and 60s, but it will definitely move sensitive souls to not only sit back and enjoy the ride, but mainly to experience every moment and bear the consequences for it.” Petr Mareček, MF DNES, 30.11.2019 | rating 80% “It is a piece that is as fizzy as champagne, while also as pungent as flat beer at times. Jarkovský and Vašíček, in cooperation with excellent musicians, manage to properly measure out the situations (…). The interactivity is entertaining, as is the free and playful atmosphere and subsequent sadness, when euphoria is followed by the dark side of drifting. And one more thing: Jazmina Piktorová is the literal embodiment of femininity and she is a wonderful singer. Yeah, I saw it a second time, and I would go again.” Jana Soprová, Bulletin of the 69th Loutkářská Chrudim Festival   https://youtu.be/SHOENkM3ee4

MUD ON HEAD

A unique puppet production for adult audiences combines the tradition of Czech puppetry with absurd humor. Using the means of classical theatre, it captures the grotesque dimension of today‘s reality.

The production of Richard Balous is co-produced with Prague‘s La Fabrika.

BEDTIME!

A devised production bordering on poetic physical theatre and clownery by the director Veronika Poldauf Riedlbauchová. Suitable for audiences aged 3+. The production builds on the well-known moment when children should go to bed, but suddenly they discover an undreamt surge of energy and do not want to get to sleep at all, with their father naïvely thinking how smooth this will be. Riedlbauchová graduated from theatre direction at KALD DAMU under the supervision of Professor Josef Krofta. Consequently, she studied physical acting at Institut del Teatre in Barcelona. It is poetic physical theatre which is at the crux of her oeuvre – most recently her collaboration with Bratři v tricku troupe. Together they have devised a trinity of highly acclaimed productions: Plovárna(Riverside), Funusand Lov(Hunting). On the side, Riedlbauchová is engaged with opera directing, choreography or devising of productions fusing music with poetry.

Awards and acknowledgements:

At the 2021 Mateřinka international theatre festival, Veronika Riedlbauchová received the Governor of the Liberec Region’s Award for the direction and choreography of the production, Marianna Stránská for the scenography, Michal Kříž for light design and composer Jan Čtvrtník for music.

(more…)

The White Doe

A daughter is born to a royal couple and they give her the name Jitřenka. She was kind and pretty and would have brought only joy to her parents if she didn’t have a strange threat looming over her. She couldn’t let a simple ray of sunlight fall upon her until her sixteenth birthday, otherwise… And so the King had a castle built without windows or doors, determined to protect Jitřenka from the sun. But it is not possible to live without light… https://youtu.be/8DHl-kRWkxE

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