May 12th Fri, 7:00 PM – 8:45 PM | Moravské divadlo
Jiří Havelka and co. SMOKEOUT Divadlo Husa na provázku Brno
An actor portraying Jesus. A Muslim woman. Practising Catholics as well as muscular defenders of the “true faith”. All these and many others met and clashed in Brno at the festival performance of Frljić’s production Our Violence and your Violence five years ago. In response to the bizarre event, its media reception and its aftermath (in Europe’s most atheist country), the director Jiří Havelka comes back to the “crime scene” to stage a “frantically purgatorial scenic ceremony”…
Discussion follows.
Ticket price: 60–390 Kč
It's all extremely funny and fresh. As is Vladimir Hauser's monologue trying to explain that he is an actor representing another actor, which takes it to a wonderfully meta-absurd level. Husa na Provázku has managed to create a delightfully mocking and funny production that also reports on the still high level of intolerance, a conservatism belonging to another century.
Jana Machalická, Lidovky.cz, 19 November 2022
In this multi-voiced opinion piece, in which he drew on documentary material about the case, Jiří Havelka plays out the contradictions of viewpoints almost „publicly“, without any of the actors or actresses dehumanising the point of view being treated by their performance.
Josef Chuchma, ART Zóna, 20 November 2022
Yes, this is the event of the year. In terms of genre and ideas presented, however, it is certainly not for everyone. However, if you're looking for a space to confront other people's/our/your prejudices, Smokeout will take you exactly where you let it take you.
Lenka Hloušková, Novinky.cz, 12 November 2022
directed by Jiří Havelka
dramaturgy Martin Sládeček
assistant director Ctibor Němec
stage design Martin Ondruš
costumes Luděk Kellner
props Petra Jiránková
assistant director Ctibor Němec
stage design Martin Ondruš
costumes Luděk Kellner
props Petra Jiránková
cast
Dalibor Buš, Růžena Dvořáková, Vladimír Hauser, Milan Holenda, Dušan Hřebíček, Jan Kolařík, Sylvie Krupanská, Tereza Maxmilián Marečková, Dominik Teleky, Tereza Volánková, Zdislava Začalová, Michal Sikora as a guest, Ctibor Němec as a guest
Dalibor Buš, Růžena Dvořáková, Vladimír Hauser, Milan Holenda, Dušan Hřebíček, Jan Kolařík, Sylvie Krupanská, Tereza Maxmilián Marečková, Dominik Teleky, Tereza Volánková, Zdislava Začalová, Michal Sikora as a guest, Ctibor Němec as a guest
premiere 11 November 2022
The director, author, actor and host Jiří Havelka (1980) is one of the most versatile personalities of the Czech cultural space. In 2003 he graduated in directing from KALD DAMU academy, which he then led from 2011 to 2019.Since his early production attempts, he has focused mainly on collective improvisation as a method of creating original authorial statements. He focuses on the possibilities of theatrical space-time in its entirety. His work is based on stage illusion, emphasising the uniqueness of theatre as a tool of direct communication and combining the principles of drama, alternative and often movement theatre.
He started at Studio Ypsilon and has worked as a guest artist at many leading local (Dejvické divadlo, HaDivadlo, Divadlo Na zábradlí) and Slovak stages (Slovak National Theatre, Slovenské komorné divadlo Martin).
In recent years, he has attracted attention primarily with his productions of The Mouse Paradise Experiment (2016) and the adaptation of Medek's play Colonel Švec (2018).In particular, he has attracted attention with the performances of his original texts Gajdos Go to Heaven (2020) and Smokeout (2022), both at Divadlo Husa na provázku, in which he treats sensitive social issues with a certain amount of irony and exaggeration.
He has also established himself as a film director: his adaptation of the original theatre text Owners received a record 12 nominations for the Czech Lion Awards, of which Jiří Havelka won the Best Screenplay category, for which he also won the Czech Film Critics' Award.
Divadelní Flora has been reflecting Havelka's work for a long time: in addition to the titles of his home theatre Vosto5, it offered a directorial profile of him (in 2015). In subsequent years, the festival's attention has not missed the successful collaboration with the Slovak National Theatre Elites (2017) or the politically engaged theatrical experiment The Murder of Gonzago (2017), which Havelka staged with the ensemble of Dejvické divadlo.
The idea of founding the experimental stage of Divadlo Husa na Provázku as a broader cultural centre, bringing together artists related in generation and opinion, was born in 1967 by dramaturge Bořivoj Srba and his classmates from JAMU. Although the theatre has changed considerably due to historical events, the principle of creation and its mission, clearly defined from the very first seasons, are still inherent to this day.
The concept developed at the Zelný trh, Brno by the current artistic management headed by Martin Sládeček emphasises an uncompromising dramaturgy expressing contemporary, socially pressing issues and the uniqueness of the staged subjects. They continue the tradition of irregular dramaturgy and strong directorial personalities, whose distinct manuscripts greatly shape the poetics of the institution. Artistically, they build on freedom of expression, openness of dialogue and plurality of opinion, which is underlined by the author's production of Smokeout, directed by guest Jiří Havelka, which refers to the recent media scandal and the ensuing debate over the nature of art.
The operation of Husa na Provázku, together with HaDivadlo and the dramaturgical production platform Terén, falls under the CED – Centrum experimentálního divadla – a public cultural institution established by the City of Brno.
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Interview with Jiří Havelka (in Czech)
https://www.pressreader.com/…651079090970
About the case (in Czech)
-https://brnensky.denik.cz/…0180523.html
-https://www.novinky.cz/…-hram-210597
-https://www.lidovky.cz/…kultura_lros
photo David Konečný
