MEDIATHEK

MARYŠA This most famous of plays about marrying for money has been shown in Czech theatres for over a hundred years, and yet it still manages to surprise in terms of the number of interpretations it is capable of bearing. Its premiere was at the National Theatre in Prague in 1894, and it has now returned there for the eleventh time, this time directed by Jan Mikulášek. The folklore is suppressed, and the village setting replaced by a huge recording studio. “We wanted to highlight the universal theme of the play. If we set it in a specific environment, we would lose its general testimony. Moreover, I have the feeling that these days folklore tends to give a reassuring impression. In our production, however, we want to go against the grain,” the director says. The outer signs (the set and costumes) are contemporary, the number of figures has been reduced and the emphasis has been put on the compact family tragedy. Nevertheless, or maybe because of this, the production’s creators manage to produce a deeply human story full of metaphors and bewitching performances. The repetitive use of props, the symbolism of the set, the parallels between the theme and the set design elements, the stylised movement – these are all means that Mikulášek uses to set in motion this play about ruin and lack of freedom. It is a contemporary look at the text, a fantastic contribution to the adaptation of classics for big theatres.

// CREDITS //

DIRECTION: Jan Mikulášek
DRAMATURGY: Marta Ljubková, Jan Tošovský
STAGE DESIGN: Marek Cpin
COSTUMES: Kateřina Štefková
SOUND DESIGN: Michal Cáb
LIGHT DESIGN: Ondřej Kyncl

CAST:
LÍZAL Vladimír Javorský
LÍZALKA, JEHO ŽENA Taťjana Medvecká
MARYŠA, JEJICH DCERA Pavla Beretová
VÁVRA David Prachař
FRANCEK Matyáš Řezníček
STROUHALKA, MARYŠINA TETA Martina Preissová
HOSPODSKÝ Filip Rajmont
ROZÁRA, DĚVEČKA U VÁVRŮ Kateřina Císařová (posl. DAMU)

Premiere November 23rd, 2017

// AUTHOR //

JAN MIKULÁŠEK (1978) After studying drama direction at JAMU, which he did not finish, he worked as the artistic head of the Polárka Theatre in Brno. Together with other young theatre artists he helped make Polárka a closely followed alternative theatre, focusing mostly on auteur work for as wide an audience spectrum as possible. He was also the artistic head of the Petr Bezruč Theatre, and worked regularly with the Reduta theatre in Brno. In 2013, when the artistic head of Reduta took over the leadership of Divadlo Na Zábradlí in Prague, Mikulášek became a permanent director there. The theatre currently has the following productions by Mikulášek in its repertoire: The V + W Correspondence, Europeana, Bourgeoisie, The Grey Seventies, The Foreigner, The Golden Sixties, Hedonists, Hamlets, Obsession, AnderSen… They are regular guests at Czech and foreign festivals. Mikulášek's directorial approach frequently involves the stage adaptation of novels and other non-dramatic texts, original scripts and auteur theatre. He works with cutting, detail, musical contrapposto and parallel plots. His other major source of inspiration is fine art, from which he “borrows” an emphasis on mise-en-scene and lighting. A marked feature of his work is the way in which he plays with the meaning of speeches, context and associations on a given theme. He manages to materialise on stage entirely abstract, philosophical subjects. He also teaches at DAMU and works with other Prague theatres, recently mainly with the National Theatre (The Cremator, Maryša).

THE NATIONAL THEATRE The drama section works in three architecturally different theatres. The largest one is a national emblem, a symbol of Czech culture and the independence of the nation, with dramaturgy that follows the path of the classics of the Czech and international repertoire. The classicist building of the Estates Theatre, meanwhile, shows both classic and contemporary works, while the New Stage, which is the most progressive of them, serves as a place for auteur projects and Czech premieres. The theatre works with representatives of the middle and young generation, thus giving rise to daring productions, radical interpretations of the classics and novel renditions of contemporary plays. The National Theatre’s drama section shows seven or eight drama premieres a year, but a good deal of its activity also consists of accompanying activities and educational programmes. The current management of the drama section, headed by Daniel Špinar, tries to make the National Theatre an institution that is alive and open. Its activities also include the Prague Crossroads festival.

// PRESS //

The actors are not limited by the anchoring of the production in time or space, or even in reality – the only thing that is important here is the authentic or metaphorical expression of the essence of the situation. From the position of the audience we sail easily over the notoriously well-known story, riding the waves of the various speeches, most of them with unusual acting or artistic treatment. We know the text, for the most part, and so we can enjoy the nuances, the ideas, let ourselves be carried away by the creativity of the actors. We might even find ourselves, paradoxically, perceiving the speeches more intensely through the bodily expression of an actor or the melody and diction of his voice than through the words.

– Marie Reslová, Divadelní noviny

Set designer Marek Cpin has set the play in a recording studio. It consists of wooden panel walls, which are a counterbalance to the conventions and period in which the play is set. Maryša thus becomes an ageless struggle for freedom, a picture of its curtailment and of the destruction caused by coldness

and lack of empathy in human relationships. A comprehensive and impressive directorial feat.

– Ester Žantovská, Hospodářské noviny

Jan Mikulášek and his creative team have confirmed that they represent the very best of Czech theatre. Maryša is not just one of the best productions to be seen in Czech theatres today, but it is a self-confident production of European format with a pure, aesthetic form, harmonious acting performances and a convincing social message.

– Saša Hrbotický, www.magazin.aktualne.cz

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