They resemble humans in appearance, but often differ from them in characteristics. They need two bodies to exist freely. They control the light with their voice, open the door from a distance… A fascinating artistic dive by Alžběta Nováková and Eliska Říhová into the unknown world of those whose land is seemingly far away, but who actually live in our close proximity.
discussion follows

The production Arriving can be thoroughly recommended. For the rare opportunity to coexist with “otherness” and the almost tangible contact with the presented issues as well as for the infectious ability of the participants with disabilities to rejoice in the present moment…
Ester Žantovská, Aktuálně.cz, 2 December 2022

They control the light with their voice, open the door remotely. In appearance they resemble humans, but in characteristics they are somehow different. They need two bodies to exist freely. Is such a life even possible? Can you actually live when all the activities are performed by strange hands? And what if there is no other body within reach?
Alžběta Nováková and Eliška Říhová’s production Arriving gives a glimpse into the world of people with severe disabilities and their assistants. It depicts both serious and funny situations that these relationships bring. The tandem of young directors has cast in the main parts five people with various degrees of disability, who are accompanied on stage by actors Antonie Rašilová and Štěpán Lustyk together with three assistants. “Their meeting, connecting and communicating with each other gives us a metaphorical insight into the existence of people of whose everyday practical, let alone inner life we have only a limited idea,” said Ester Žantovská.

 

directed by Alžběta Nováková and Eliška Říhová

stage design Eliška Kociánová, Berta Doubková
costumes Matilda Tlolková
masks Berta Doubková
music Matěj Šíma
lighting design Eliška Kociánová

cast 
Antonie Rašilovová, Štěpán Lustyk, Lenka Dvořáková, Kateřina Cuřínová, Michal Greško, Michal Novotný, Kristýna Kolenčíková, Alžběta Nováková, Berta Doubková, Kamila Selementová

premiere 29 November 2022

 

Information for people with disabilities
The theatre hall and toilets are wheelchair accessible. Please let us know in advance of your visit so we can assist you at the entrance. Capacity in some venues is limited, please secure your tickets early to ensure your seat in the auditorium. Contact our production manager at klara.heskova@divadelniflora.cz. Thank you.

 

Director and actress Alžběta Nováková (1995) has been working for several years as a personal assistant for people with mental and combined disabilities – she has put her experience to good use in the sensitive production Arriving. She studied Czech in Communication of the Deaf at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, and is now finishing her studies in acting at DAMU’s Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre. She focuses on improvisational theatre and its crossover into other fields of art – she is a member of the Czech National Improvisation Theatre, the nomadic ensemble Budenebude kůň and the choir Veselé chvíle. She has collaborated with Studio hrdinů, Damúza and Tygr v tísni. 

Director and playwright Eliška Říhová (1994) drew attention to herself with her last year’s dramatization of Annie Ernaux’s text A Woman’s Story at MeetFactory. She graduated from DAMU in Directing and Dramaturgy of Alternative and Puppet Theatre – for her authorial production House of God she was awarded at the Encounter festival. Her theatre work is closely associated with writing dramatic texts, which she then stages herself. For her play The Farewell Party – which she then directed at the New Stage of the National Theatre – she received the Evald Schorm Prize 2021. She is also active in radio and film production, especially documentaries.

Vzlet, the new cultural centre in Prague, brings together three cultural organisations – the Vosto5 Theatre, the Baroque orchestra Collegium 1704 and the Kino Pilotů in Vršovice. Since 2021, the century-old Sokol cinema has been offering a programme for audiences across generations – theatre productions, concerts, exhibitions, educational programmes, and balls. 
Nobody’s Land is an artistic project produced by Vzlet under the curatorial supervision of dramaturge Marta Ljubková, director Jiří Havelka and actor Petr Prokop, who is also the programme director of Vzlet. The project brings to light the problems of communities and places overlooked by society, such as the issue of single parenthood in Holky, můžu poprosit? (Girls, May I Please?), the limits of understanding in the performance Power.point about speech and language, or the subculture of graffiti in the site-specific theatre game Nitro 669.

“In preparing this long-term project, we drew on the concept of ‘blind spots’ used by sociologist Daniel Prokop in his book of the same name. He was referring to those places in society that we do not know about – we overlook them because they are not visible at first glance. It is from these places that sadness and frustration most often arise. We have taken this connection and used it loosely – looking for what uncharted communities are around us.
For this project, we approached students and recent graduates of the Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre at DAMU, where we teach, and offered them to tackle it in a completely creative way. Our aim is not to create more and more productions, but rather conduct a kind of research through the arts – a stage form can emerge, but also a film, installation, video, or performative walk.”

…………………

Interview with director Eliška Říhová 
https://www.divadelni-noviny.cz/eliska-rihova

Interview with director Alžběta Nováková 
https://vltava.rozhlas.cz/…mi-s-8877312 

Documentary about personal assistance, featuring the actors of the production / Czech TV
https://www.ceskatelevize.cz/…paty-stupen/ 

Reportage about personal assistance with an interview with Alžběta Nováková / Asistence o.p.s.
https://www.asistence.org/…udolfovou-2/ 

 

photo Oskar Helcel