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| Performers - Jindřiška Křivánková and Tereza Havlíčková |
Summerhall, Old Lab Venue, 10th-30th August 2015, 8:25pm
Spitfire Company in association with Aurora Nova present Antiwords, a tragic comedy inspired by Václav Havel's Audience. Summerhall, Old Lab Venue, 10th- 30th August from 8:25pm. This performance is part of the Czech Showcase 2015, organised by the Czech Centre London.
What inspired this production: did you begin with an idea or a script or an object?
Petr Boháč: Antiwords is highly inspired by Vaclav Havel's plays, especially Audience, an absurd 1975 tragi-comedy. The play centres on a small Czech Brewery and follows two male characters, Vaněk, Vaclav Havel's alter ego, along with his superior a “brewer” who is attempting to convince Vaněk to spy on himself on behalf of the state secret police.
Why bring your work to Edinburgh?
After success in Edinburgh Fringe in 2013, where our production One Step Before the Fall received a Herald Angel Award and was short-listed for a Total Award award we decided to comeback with very different yet again original performance, which has been performed already in three continents and eight countries, Antiwords. We are love to see the reactions of an international audience and theatre professionals - and Edinburgh is just a great place for that!
What can the audience expect to see and feel - or even think - of your production?
Two woman on stage, case of beer, huge (really biiiiiig) masks and we toy with ideas of who we are; what threatens us; and how weak we are to fight back against so many ideals and expectations throughout life. We have refined Havel's absurd humour and run with it.
The Dramaturgy Questions
How would you explain the relevance - or otherwise - of dramaturgy within your work?
Dramaturgy was extremely relevant to this show. It allowed us to transform Havel's play Audience to a new and original performance. Some of the critics say that Antiwords is the transformation of Havel's poetics into the 21st century. The structure of his play Audience stayed, we changed only the tools to express his absurd and sometimes cruel humour - the surprise there? - that was physical theatre and use of huge head masks that did it.
What particular traditions and influences would you acknowledge on your work - have any particular artists, or genres inspired you and do you see yourself within their tradition?
Antiwords stands in the border of performance, live art, physical theatre and dance being innovative and just seeing where the story took us. Last but not least, the performers drink authentic Czech beer throughout the show. Everywhere in the world we perform this show people asked us: " Why women and performing the roles of man"? Our answer is always the same: "Because it is bigger challenge. It is a multiplication of absurd approach" and the beer? "it is a very literal symbol of devastation from drinking alcohol."
Do you have a particular process of making that you could describe - where it begins, how you develop it, and whether there is any collaboration in the process?
The artistic director Petr Boháč together with the director/performer Miřenka Čechová created the concept and then
together with the performers they devised the performance under the director's lead.
What do you feel the role of the audience is, in terms of making the meaning of your work?
The situation in this Havel’s absurdist play is on the surface simple, but yet multilayered, deep and powerful.
With our approach of the physical theatre it is bringing even more layers and understating.
So far it was very well received by the audience all around the world. No matter what country, culture the people were coming from they always could identify themselves with it. See you at Summerhall …..
After success in Edinburgh Fringe in 2013, where our production One Step Before the Fall received a Herald Angel Award and was short-listed for a Total Award award we decided to comeback with very different yet again original performance, which has been performed already in three continents and eight countries, Antiwords. We are love to see the reactions of an international audience and theatre professionals - and Edinburgh is just a great place for that!
What can the audience expect to see and feel - or even think - of your production?
Two woman on stage, case of beer, huge (really biiiiiig) masks and we toy with ideas of who we are; what threatens us; and how weak we are to fight back against so many ideals and expectations throughout life. We have refined Havel's absurd humour and run with it.
The Dramaturgy Questions
How would you explain the relevance - or otherwise - of dramaturgy within your work?
Dramaturgy was extremely relevant to this show. It allowed us to transform Havel's play Audience to a new and original performance. Some of the critics say that Antiwords is the transformation of Havel's poetics into the 21st century. The structure of his play Audience stayed, we changed only the tools to express his absurd and sometimes cruel humour - the surprise there? - that was physical theatre and use of huge head masks that did it.
What particular traditions and influences would you acknowledge on your work - have any particular artists, or genres inspired you and do you see yourself within their tradition?
Antiwords stands in the border of performance, live art, physical theatre and dance being innovative and just seeing where the story took us. Last but not least, the performers drink authentic Czech beer throughout the show. Everywhere in the world we perform this show people asked us: " Why women and performing the roles of man"? Our answer is always the same: "Because it is bigger challenge. It is a multiplication of absurd approach" and the beer? "it is a very literal symbol of devastation from drinking alcohol."
Do you have a particular process of making that you could describe - where it begins, how you develop it, and whether there is any collaboration in the process?
The artistic director Petr Boháč together with the director/performer Miřenka Čechová created the concept and then
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| Photographer - Michal Hančovský |
What do you feel the role of the audience is, in terms of making the meaning of your work?
The situation in this Havel’s absurdist play is on the surface simple, but yet multilayered, deep and powerful.
With our approach of the physical theatre it is bringing even more layers and understating.
So far it was very well received by the audience all around the world. No matter what country, culture the people were coming from they always could identify themselves with it. See you at Summerhall …..
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