A riveting performance of Marie Štípková – whose lawyer Tessa undergoes a fatal transformation and embarks on an irrevocable battle for human dignity in an unequal clash with a rigid system – in the first Czech staging of this poignant “courtroom drama”. Directed by Lucie Ferenzová. Due to technical complications, the dramaturgical introduction with the director is cancelled. We apologize.

“Prima Facie” has insistently etched on my memory, soaked deep under my skin.
Eliška Hankovcová, Nadivadlo

Štípková manages to perfectly express Tessa’s turn of thinking through a change of acting style. She suddenly transforms from a confident lawyer into a depressed woman with a huge trauma.”
Zdeňka Horváthová, A2larm

“At the end of the performance I get really angry, realizing our total hopelessness again,” confides actress Marie Štípková, the protagonist of the monodrama by Suzie Miller (Respekt 47/2023). This riveting play, inspired by real rape cases, is a confession, an appeal and an indictment. It tells the story of a lawyer seeking justice in a court system that tends to turn a blind eye to sexual violence; whether in England or the Czech Republic. According to statistics, one in ten women in Czechia has had this experience. After last year’s Dějiny násilí (History of Violence), Švandovo divadlo brings another poignant production to Olomouc. It shows that the issue of rape is deservedly getting more attention in the public space (especially after the recent cases of former deputy Feri and psychiatrist Cimický).
The title was nominated for Best Production of 2023 in the Theatre Critics’ Awards, and Marie Štípková was nominated for Best Actress of 2023 for her role as Tessa.

directed by Lucie Ferenzová

translation Zuzana Josková
dramaturgy David Košťák
stage design Jana Hauskrechtová
costume design Zuzana Sceranková
music Markéta Ptáčníková
projections Dita Havránková
stage manager and director’s assistant Blanka Popková, Barbora Osvaldová
production Tereza Marková

roles and cast
Tessa Marie Štípková
Woman Markéta Ptáčníková

premiere 7 October 2023

WARNING: This production contains sensitive content with themes of sex, violence and abuse, and is therefore not recommended for audiences under the age of 15.

Lucie Ferenzová (1981), already as a student of Bohemistics at Charles University and theatre dramaturgy and directing at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, collaborated with Divadlo Komedie and Divadlo Na zábradlí, where she participated in productions as dramaturge and headed the alternative space Eliadova knihovna (Eliade’s Library). As an in-house director of A studio Rubín, Ferenzová has gained a reputation for her adaptations of novels, whether foreign bestsellers such as Heinrich Böll’s The Clown (or Klaunovy názory) and Murakami’s Norwegian Wood (presented as Osobní Fudži / A Personal Fuji), or Czech prose debuts such as Jezero (The Lake) by Bianca Bellová and Smrtholka (Deathmaiden) by Lucie Faulerová. She tends towards unspectacular but multi-layered chamber productions with elements of physical theatre, the strength of which lies primarily in meticulous dramaturgical preparation that enables her to view the subject from multiple perspectives and convey new, often unsuspected contexts to the audience. In her authorial projects, she gravitates towards socially critical topics, be it environmental grief in the project Propast (The Abyss) or exploitation of workforce in the cabaret Pravidla úklidu (The Cleaning Rules), which she staged in a co-production with Divadlo na cucky and which premiered at the 25^th Flora Theatre Festival.

Švandovo divadlo is the third oldest theatre building in Prague. Since 1999, it has been headed by director Daniel Hrbek, who has revitalised it from the ground up, creating a modern theatre institution with a novel, opinionated dramaturgy. Through productions that step out of the comfort zone, the creators here seek to engage in an open and free dialogue with the audience over topics that resonate in society – such as environmental grief, artificial intelligence, gender identity, homophobia or the issue of rape. At the same time, they offer thematically diverse workshops, and their repertoire consistently includes productions for children and adolescents. “Švanďák” also runs a community centre in the Eliška Pešková House, which contributes to the concept of theatre as a living community and provides a place for cultural activities and “neighbourly” meetings.

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Reportage / Czech TV
https://www.ceskatelevize.cz/…ast/1004290/ 

Report and review by Jan H. Vitvar / Respekt 47/2023
https://www.respekt.cz/…u-zkusenosti 

Interview with director Lucie Ferenzová and actress Marie Štípková
https://vltava.rozhlas.cz/…pred-9089213

photo Dita Havránková