Fire

FIRE Roland Schimmelpfennig, a distinguished contemporary playwright, wrote a fitting parable about the contrast between wealth and poverty. To this end he uses his characteristic language – rhythmic, poetic and figurative – which has inspired many of his successors. Director Josef Doležal has staged the play as a musical show that combines acting, singing, and dancing, with choreographies by ballet master Markéta Pospíšilová, Eastern European folk songs, and live musicians on stage. The story of a great love is set in two villages connected by a little bridge over a stream. However, their fairy-tale-like peaceful coexistence turns into mutual hostility as various disasters struck and affect each village differently, one flourishing, and the other despairing. The stream gradually splits and widens, eventually making a space for a vast sea flowing between the villages. The play thus reflects the contrast between rich Europe and the poorer world. Indeed, the play was commissioned by the National Theatre Mannheim in 2017, when the town accommodated a large number of refugees in local camps. The Pilsen production, however, does not deal specifically with the refugee crisis, but rather accentuates the issue of solidarity in general terms.

Setting the play in traditional Slavic rural environment is a great idea, in my opinion. Indeed, while the original play was written during the migration crisis that involved refugees from Africa and Syria, today it is mainly Ukrainians who are fleeing to Central and Western Europe to escape the horrors of Russian aggression. Like the protagonists of the Schimmelpfennig’s parable, ordinary Ukrainian civilians have done nothing to be thus terrorised. And it is the people in this land, on the happier side of the valley, who lack solidarity and refuse to help them.
MICHAELA SVOBODOVÁ, ČT Art

JOSEF DOLEŽAL (1997) The Ostrava-born director and playwright engaged in amateur theatre from his childhood and was later admitted to acting study program at the Janáček Conservatory in Ostrava. During his studies, he wrote his first plays, guest-starred at the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre and Puppet Theatre Ostrava, and premiered two original stage plays at the old Arena Theatre Company. After completing the Conservatory, he went to study directing at the DAMU Department of Dramatic Theatre. In addition to his school works, he assisted several directors and also participated in original projects at the Horácko Theatre in Jihlava and the Drama Studio in Ústí nad Labem. He won the Drama Competition for Best Short Play with his play In Sight, which granted him a place at the Tisch School of the New York University, where he studied scriptwriting. In his work as a director and a playwright, he conceives a poetics that tackles topical issues in modern language. All his directions were based on contemporary texts, proving his natural inclination towards artistic vigour, urgency, and the raw perception of the world. To convey an authentic message about the state of the current world, he closely collaborates with the cast as the cornerstone of his productions.

J. K. TYL THEATRE The theatre consists of four artistic companies that produce about 500 shows a year, including drama, opera, operetta, musical and ballet productions. The theatre aims for a varied and genre-balanced repertoire, including new Czech and foreign plays. With over a century-long history of creative work, as well as many other activities, the theatre ranks among the leading art institutions in the West Bohemian region and beyond. Actress Apolena Veldová is currently the head of the DJKT Drama Company.