Jan Mikulášek (b. 1978), one of the most distinctive Czech directors today, became the artistic director of the Polárka Theatre in Brno and subsequently Divadlo Petra Bezruče in Ostrava after leaving his studies in theatre directing at the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno (JAMU) without a degree. His productions – Elementární částice (Elementary Particles), Korespondence V+W, Europeana, Zlatá šedesátá (The Golden Sixties) – which he staged as a guest director with dramaturge Dora Viceníková at Brno’s Reduta, garnered significant attention. In 2013, when Polárka’s artistic director Petr Štědroň took over the leadership of Divadlo Na zábradlí in Prague, Mikulášek became a resident director there. He continues to shape the distinctive aesthetic of the scene to this day, having created there, among other works, Šedá sedmdesátá (The Gray Seventies), The Stranger, The Hedonists, Doctor Zhivago, Hamlets, Obsession, The Woodcutters, and more. All of the aforementioned productions were also presented at the Flora Theatre Festival, which has consistently followed and reflected on Mikulášek’s work and, in 2012, included a thematic block of five of his productions in its program. In subsequent editions of Flora, audiences had the opportunity to see Mikulášek’s dramatization of Elsa Aids’ novella Přípravy na všechno (Preparations for Everything); as part of the autumn edition of the 27th Flora Theatre Festival Epilogue) or his adaptation of Bergman’s Persona. The current production of Karl Ove Knausgård’s My Struggle: A Man in Love clearly references both of these productions.

Mikulášek’s productions are highly regarded by both critics and audiences, thanks in particular to their stylized acting, grotesque exaggeration, and exceptional visual and musical elements. His directorial style, characterized by a playful engagement with context and associations related to the chosen theme, clearly draws inspiration from the language of cinema. In addition to directing, he composes stage music and teaches at the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (DAMU).