MEDIATHEK

THE MEMORANDUM Václav Havel (1936–2011) started to devote himself to theatre at the end of the 1950s, after his first poetry and prose (essay) attempts. His work as a playwright later brought him an international reputation. The Memorandum had its world premiere on 26 July 1965 at Divadlo Na zábradlí. The genesis of the play’s text is not without interest. While doing military service, Havel’s brother Ivan wrote a parodical play in a totally unintelligible language which he called ptydepe. Václav Havel later took Ivan’s idea – with his agreement – and developed it further. In an interview for Divadelní noviny (1993) Havel says: “I always tried to write about general mechanisms, above all about the person in society, about the pressure of society on the person, the struggle of the person with society, and at the same time I tried to stick to certain archetypes, to a certain extent simplified, puppetlike examples of human behaviour and human characters, something in the manner of commedia dell’arte. As a basis I used my entirely concrete existential life experience – however, I did not want to capture only that, but also things that are true of individuals and society always. If my plays still come over as contemporary, it is not the fruit of some sort of prescience or clairvoyance, but merely the result, I would like to think, of them being written in the right way: I believe that all good plays must be true at all times, since – as I have already said – they have to concern things that are permanent.“

// Credits //

DIRECTION AND MUSIC SELECTION: Vojtěch Štěpánek
DRAMATURGY: Tomáš Vůjtek
STAGE DESIGN: Milan David
COSTUMES: Marta Roszkopfová

CAST:
JOSEF GROSS, ředitel úřadu / Josef Kaluža
JAN BALÁŠ, náměstek ředitele / Šimon Krupa
ZDENĚK MAŠÁT, vedoucí překladatelského střediska / Michal Čapka
JAN KUNC, ptydomet / Vojtěch Lipina
HELENA, předsedkyně / Alena Sasínová-Polarczyk
MARIE, sekretářka na překladatelském středisku / Pavla Dostálová
HANA, sekretářka ředitele / Zuzana Truplová
J. V. PERINA, učitel ptydepe / Vladislav Georgiev
VÁCLAV KUBŠ / Marek Cisovský
JIRKA, pozorovatel / Jan Chudý
IVO KALOUS, úředník / Ondřej Malý j.h.
ŠUBA / Petr Pěnkava j.h.

Premiere October 21st, 2017

// Author //

VOJTĚCH ŠTĚPÁNEK (1984) Studied acting at the State Conservatory in Prague under Jana Maciuchová and Jan Novotný. From 2005 until 2011 he played a significant role in the creation of the Strašnice Theatre, where he was first an actor, later a permanent director and member of the theatre’s management. In 2011 the company won a tender to operate Divadlo Komedie in Prague, and in the following year moved there from Strašnice. Štěpánek moved into Divadlo Komedie as its permanent director, and since 2013 has been the managing director. Under his leadership the theatre gained a profile as the Centre for Eastern Drama, focusing on forgotten, undiscovered or entirely new authors, mostly from Central and Eastern Europe. After the theatre’s activity ended in 2016, Štěpánek freelanced for a short time. In 2018 he started as the artistic head of the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre in Ostrava.

ARENA THEATRE This Ostrava theatre has had its current name since 1994, building on the work of the former Divadlo hudby (Musical Theatre). It performs in an extremely small room, which requires a certain type of dramaturgy and production style. The Arena productions typically have simple sets, an emphasis on the acting performances and are of demanding plays. The Arena Theatre won the Czech Critics Award for the Theatre of the Year in 2017 – the fourth time that it has won the award.

// Press //

Štěpánek’s production confirms that this is a play that is still fresh. The depiction of the conflict between the office director, Gross (Josef Kaluža) and his deputy Baláš (Šimon Krupa) applies to many power games on the contemporary political scene, including the circulation of functions (…). The production is well-arranged, with a gradating tempo. Although Havel’s plays are sometimes accused of being too complicated, the text of The Memorandum comes over, in the Ostrava stage interpretation, as natural and not at all artificial. And it breathes a topicality that is almost frightening.

– Jan Kerbr, Lidové noviny

For their contemporary interpretation, director Vojtěch Štěpánek and dramaturge Tomáš Vůjtek sought a new approach. They have promoted the absurdity by means of grotesque, they have taken the testimony and given it both iciness and deliriousness, expression and humour. (…) The production of The Memorandum at the Arena Theatre shows how Havel’s play may be newly interpreted. As well as being a message to audiences, it is also homage to the author. The premiere, on the day of parliamentary elections that were won by the more capable manipulators, emphasises still further the topicality of the play.

– Milan Líčka, krasnaostrava.cz

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