An authorial production by director Šimon Spišák about the reasons people do not go to the theatre, and the reasons they do. About the needs of theatre artists and the importance of “knowing how to sell a story”.
discussion follows

Tragedians, a new production of Divadlo na cucky directed by Šimon Spišák, looks into the thinking of the audience and the authors, their needs and preferences, the creators of the stories, their protagonists and consumers. The title refers to the cradle of theatre – ancient tragedy, to which it relates without reverence and pathos, and asks a series of disturbing questions: Do we still need theatre in the 21st century? What should it look like? And will anyone ever go to see it?

directed by Šimon Spišák
stage and costume design Karel Czech

cast Klára Bulantová, Jakub Spišák and František Maňák

premiere 10 May 2024

Šimon Spišák comes from a theatre family. He graduated from directing at DAMU’s Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre and worked as artistic director of Staré divadlo Karola Spišáka (Karol Spišák Old Theatre) in Nitra. He was also a member of the Prague ensemble Lachende Bestien as well as the travelling company Divadlo koňa a motora, and worked at Divadlo T601. He collaborates with the legendary Teatro Tatro. He co-founded Nové divadlo (the New Theatre) in Nitra, where he directed Anna Franková (Anne Frank) and Zlodejka kníh (The Book Thief), which earned him nominations for the 2017 and 2022 DOSKY Awards, among others.
More often, he creates drama and puppet productions for children and youth, both in Slovakia (Žilina Puppet Theatre, Slovak National Theatre Bratislava) and the Czech Republic (Puppet Theatre Ostrava, Lampion Theatre Kladno). He does not shy away from challenging, even taboo topics, which he is able to sensitively convey to children (the Holocaust, drugs, homosexuality, nationalism). For Kašpárek a zbojník, a co-production between the DRAK Theatre from Hradec Králové and the Bratislava Puppet Theatre about the phenomenon of the unique proximity of two nations, he won the Divadelní noviny Award 2023. This year, he created an original adaptation of Molière called Tartuffláž for Divadlo D21 in Prague. Last year, the Flora Theatre Festival presented his successful fairy tale “about a slightly different prince”, Tři oříšky, which he staged at Divadlo na cucky and which won the Golden Gander award at the international festival Kremnica Gags.

Divadlo na cucky is a professional independent theatre with contemporary dramaturgy, dedicated to civic engagement and current social issues. Since 2017, it has been located in Dolní náměstí, Olomouc. The specific selection of production teams and personalities (Michal Hába, Šimon Spišák, Júlia Rázusová, Adam Svozil, Lucie Ferenzová, Tomáš Loužný, among others) involved in the creative process shapes the distinctive poetics of the theatre, which tends towards experimentation and exploration of new means of communication. The theatre reflects current social issues such as the polarization of society, the influence of media and social networks, feminism, the exploitation of labour, and environmental grief. In addition to repertoire productions, the theatre holds creative workshops, talks and a summer festival of new circus, Cirkuzkus. The cultural centre also includes Café na cucky and Gallery XY. Silvia Vollmann has been the artistic director of the theatre since 2017.

Last year’s Flora saw the premiere of Barbara Herz’s authorial production Tanec dervišů (The Dance of Dervishes), which was awarded at the …příští vlna/next wave… festival.

photo Zdeněk Vévoda