Carcoma

CARCOMA In her novel Carcoma, Layla Martínez shows in a fascinating way how hatred grows in a person. Two women’s voices echo from the bowels of the woodworm-infested house, desperate to stop the cycle of poverty, violence and exploitation. A stage adaptation of the eponymous novel, which turned a sensation on the literary scene for tackling the issues of patriarchal and class hatred and collective historical trauma. The play is set against the backdrop of a yellow foam house, serving as a metaphor for a place steeped in anger, disagreements, and hidden passions. Foam is used in the set design as an omni-material that absorbs and emanates the characters’ emotions. The editors of Divadelní noviny named the production the event of the month of October 2024.

 The primary aim here are not banal scares or wannabe shockingly explicit scenes, but rather a slowly thickening atmosphere and the gradual unravelling of chilling secrets stemming from an endless chain of family determinants.
PETR KLARIN KLÁR, Divadelní noviny

Eliška Říhová’s production is a visually captivating and sensitively portrayed adaptation of the novel. Jakub Šulík’s set design made of foam muffles the footsteps of the three actresses, who acquire an almost supernatural aura of bloodthirsty phantoms, underlined by mostly subtle acting.
VOJTĚCH VOSKA, Nadivadlo

ELIŠKA ŘÍHOVÁ Czech director, graduate of directing at the DAMU Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre, who focuses on adaptations of contemporary literature and original projects. She staged her original play Farewell Party at the NT New Stage in Prague. Her productions are currently on the repertoire of MeetFactory (An Ordinary Woman ), Vzlet (Bouquet, My Homeland ) and the East Bohemian Theatre (The Call of the Tribe ). For the upcoming season, she is preparing an original production called The Hotel Room at the Dlouhá Theatre.

DRAMA STUDIO IN ÚSTÍ NAD LABEM has long been recognised as a progressive Czech scene. The theatre was founded in 1972 and its first managing director, Jaroslav Chundela, sought collaboration with leading theatre artists, especially those who had been banned from the stage by the communist regime after the violent suppression of the Prague Spring, such as Jan Grossman, Evald Schorm and Jan Kačer. The dramaturge, translator and later actor Leoš Suchařípa also worked there. Director Ivan Rajmont became the head of the theatre in 1975, and many actors who would later become stars of the Czech theatre performed on its stage, such as Jiří Bartoška, Karel Heřmánek, Pavel Zedníček, Marie Spurná, Tomáš Töpfer and others. The development in the Drama Studio after 1989 was just as dynamic; among the many creators, we should mention at least Jiří Pokorný, whose dramas, representing the Czech version of the “in-yer-face theatre”, were staged at the Drama Studio in Ústí in world premiere (Dad Shoots Goals, Rest in Peace). The theatre has had a turbulent period marked by changes in the ensemble and management, as well as disputes with the municipal authority in 2014 and it had to temporarily relocate to another address. Michal Hába will lead the ensemble from the 2025/26 season onward, replacing the current head, director David Šiktanc. At the Divadlo festival, the Drama Studio presented Homo Faber (2018) and The Dining Car (2023), both directed by David Šiktanc, as well as Peer Gynt (2024) directed by Michal Hába.