Is there an objective truth in connection with issues related to the past? Has the state system power to determine who is mentally sound and who is not? How does the state power control its citizens and why is it doing it? These are just a few questions put by the Hungarian team of the project Parallel Lives in their production of Meltdown. Although the story of a psychiatrist pursued by the communist regime is focal, the questions put by the authors are highly topical.
For the young authors Dániel D. Kovács and Péter Závada topicality is an important part of the whole story – in order to better understand the present, we have to study the past. It is one of the premises that were at the beginning of their work for the project Parallel Lives. Their production is literally about a parallel life. Life of a certain psychiatrist, which has been torn to pieces by the communist power.
The main subject of the story captures the fate of R. Z., a psychiatrist who ends up as a patient in the hospital for the mentally disturbed. She is diagnosed as a schizophrenic, but she claims that the state security has conspired against her to eliminate her. Therefore she starts writing reports about her “gaolers”, while the doctors on duty write reports about her. An almost kafkaesque, dreadful story has the ambition to show the machinery and the terror of the communist regime which has many innocent victims on its records. However, the young Hungarian authors are not moralising. On the contrary, they are pointing out the incongruity and ambiguity of the whole story by applying irony and overview, which is so typical of them and suits the grotesque.
Is the psychiatrist R. Z. really ill? Or is she just thought to be ill by the state power, because it is playing its own game and needs to get rid of a cumbersome person? And although we never learn the real truth about R. Z., what is important is the fact that the production provides a metaphor of power functioning towards an individual, power which creates mechanisms to control the thinking and the conduct of an individual. And it was not only this Foucault idea that has attracted the Hungarian authors, but also the study of the discursive practice of the period, i.e., what were the ideological structures of the period which „enabled“ such tragic human stories and what it means for today.
Dániel D. Kovács belongs to the youngest generation of Hungarian directors which continues in the footsteps of their slightly older and more famous colleagues, such as Viktor Bodó and Kornél Mundruczó. Together with their peer, poet and author Péter Závada, they are a promise for an independent, ideologically and formally provocative theatre. It is an asset to the project Parallel Lives that young authors make statements about the recent past and the communist regime, although they themselves have had no direct experience of it. The more interesting it is to watch what view of their country’s past they present to us.

The origin of the production was initiated by the Divadelná Nitra Association within the project Parallel Lives – 20th Century through the Eyes of the Secret Police.
Hungarian premiere: 28 September 2013

Place: Kasárne/Kulturpark

21. november, 2013

19:00

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The death of the secretly ordained priest Rev. Ing. Přemysl Coufal is one of the most serious unclarified cases of the Slovak judiciary. It has many levels: it combines a personal tragedy, struggle for human honesty and purgation of one’s name and it is also an example of unprecedented practices by the Czechoslovak ŠtB. It also demonstrates the failure of the judiciary system of the past regime as well as that following 1989. Last but not least, it demonstrates the power the former top members of the secret police have had in Slovakia until today.

The ŠtB interfered into Přemysl Coufal’s life several times. In the 1960’s, having obtained the information about his activities in the underground church, it managed to win him over for its services for several years to provide information about the economic illegal practices of his company. Later he used numerous foreign business trips for establishing contacts and exchange of information and material with the exile and foreign church representatives. In 1979 he was identified as a courier to be forced to collaborate with the ŠtB, which he refused. On 24 February 1981 he was found dead in his flat showing traces of a brutal murder. The case was concluded by the investigation authorities of the day as a suicide. Neither the investigation of 1990, after which the case had been put aside, reached any other conclusion. By the 1992 court decree all the documents related to the case were locked in the archive safe of the SR with the date of release corresponding to the negative prescription (limitation of time beyond which the possible criminal acts related to the case are no longer enforceable). The time limit is still running.

There have been several unsuccessful initiatives to purge the name of Přemysl Coufal, which neither his parents lived to see, especially trying to achieve the annulment of the official investigation conclusion version classifying it as a suicide. In connection with Coufal’s case the disappearance of the journalist Marcel Samuhel is also talked about who had informed about the case in the early 1990’s – at a time when several journalists writing about serious issues disappeared in Slovakia. The personal story of Přemysl Coufal opens many ethical issues – at a time when ethics is considered an empty word and helplessness against non-transparent power mechanisms is cured by cynicism – it is a demonstration of responsibility for the sound functioning of society carried not only by brave individuals but mainly the legislative and judiciary bodies. It also shows how far reaching consequences complicated political decisions can have, such as, for example, “the broad line” after the past which Czechoslovak politicians had done following 1989. On the one hand, it was a gesture of moral noble-mindedness and period-conditioned optimism by the political elite of the day, on the other one, it showed its deadly romanticism and political ignorance the fatal consequences of which we are suffering until today.

In the production The Inside of the Inside the authors, Ľubomír Burgr and Dušan Vicen, are covering several stages of the ŠtB operation. The grotesque analysis of “evaluations” that the members of ŠtB at all levels were writing on themselves offers an opportunity to look into the mechanisms of building up a parallel power structure within the ŠtB thus enabling mutual inspection of individual members of staff and collaborators at all levels of this organisation, mechanisms that might be operational even after the dissolvement of the ŠtB. Another important motif in the production is the story of the ups and downs of prominent party officials, such as Zdeněk Mlynář, author of the thrilling book Frost comes from Kremlin. Thanks to this we can look into the unrestrained inside of power which, unless harnessed by law or morality, can engulf everything around it, including itself, as in the archetypal picture where the devouring starts from the tail.  In their production Burgr and Vicen are dealing with stories affected by the ŠtB in recent past but also significant issues which resulted from its activities following the fall of the totalitarian regime. What is of key importance, then, is the investigation of our coming to terms with the heritage of the totalitarian past.

The origin of the production was initiated by the Divadelná Nitra Association within the project Parallel Lives – 20^th Century through the Eyes of the Secret Police. The Slovak and world premiere is held at the festival.

Place: Kasárne/Kulturpark, 20. november, 2013

20:00

The Step by Step performance provided the USE THE CITY festival with a retrospective view of the past and the audience could experience for themselves the transport of Jews in carriages, from which only a few were able to save themselves and wait abroad for the day when they could return to their country and continue where they left off.

This is a strong, emotional and unusual performance in the hands of young artists who have not experienced this kind of repression, but know about it from talking, documentaries, films and books; it drew the audience into the plot in a non-jarring way and made one feel its message in such a way as it affected all of us. And suddenly everyone was an actor, without realising it. At a time when the intelligentsia in no way had it easy.

Raindrops evoked a bleak period

The atmosphere of the USE THE CITY festival, which put the whole city on its feet, was only spoilt by the rain. That really dampened the plans of the organizers of the events that took place in the open air. Although Friday was a rainy day, and as was Thursday, when it was originally to be performed, and all to see if the sky would come to its senses. One could have guessed that evening was to be under umbrellas. It was, but one small shower didn’t change the fact that the Slovak and French artists squeezed out everything they wanted to offer the audience. And it was not water, but positive energy that flowed around the audience at full blast. The theatre on the street is, indeed, about the cold and rain too, but was mainly about the art, which they presented. The suggestive pilgrimage around the bleak period was only enhanced by each drop that fell.

Two independent theatre groups, Na Peróne from Košice and La Hors De from Lyon in France began to work together on the Step by Step project five years ago. The initial idea for the first performance together was the life and work of the genius of world literature, Košice native and personality of the European Capital of Culture of Košice 2013, Sándor Márai.

Cooperation continued and each year both groups met to create another “step”, and they created a work, the premiere of which was presented in Košice. At the residence of Lieux Publics in Marseille they worked on the theme of exile. Ships set sail from there with emigrants. Censorship was studied in Hungary, so that the resulting image of the past would be as authentic as possible. They walked step by step to subsequently offer the viewer an artistic view of events that actually happened and what artists, writers and the intelligentsia really experienced. Whether the performers managed to use the performance to say what the purpose of it was, the viewers could judge for themselves. In any event they did not disappoint. Quite the reverse, they refreshed, forced one to think, and provided a profound artistic experience, never to be forgotten.

Real-life stories

Those who were not discouraged by the absence of a comfortable padded chair, could delve into the story of exile, identity, Europe, moving and crossing of borders, stories of lost love and life, learn about the weight of forced exile, falls and overcoming them, the clandestine and the secret from Varian Fry right in the street. Right where the destinies of people were written, whose stories were portrayed by actors in the premises of the former barracks.

The specially lit room, the large and small video projection, the showing of videos right among the audience, which had been recorded during the 5 year period of the project, the music and the professional performance of the actors, everything could be seen, heard and perceived by the spectator, who this unconventional troupe were addressing. Although “theatre” in our part of the world is still seen as a building, the Na Peróne group proved this wrong. Theatre is an art that can be presented even in a public space as evidenced by the recognition of the audience, which went home excited and rewarded the artists with big round of applause.

“The majority of audience is the informed viewer, a sympathizer with our group or one who assumes he will not see a traditional performance. In all our repertory productions we can see links between words and stage movement. In some works one dominates, in other works the other dominates, but their complementarity and condition of synergy is visible in all our works,” said one of co-founders of the independent theatre Na Peróne, Zuzana Psotková.

In Košice we had a chance to see Japanese farce again after only a short time. Like the first performance, Friday can be summed up in one sentence. It was famous, surprised the eyes, made the ears happy, got the heart beating and amused the audience. The Small Kjógenu Theatre from Brno with its guest – master Motohiko Shigejam, of Kyoto’s professional actor of the traditional school, Okura in the main role and in his native language, presented three farces in the historic town hall: Voice at the Door, Tea Caddy and Large Clothing.

“European Heads in Japanese Costumes”

The descendent of Shimek Shigejam, patron of the unique-in-Europe Brno theatre and the grandson of Sensak Shigejam presented his inborn acting skills as the populariser of the Old Japanese genre which was performed as early as the 12^th to the 13^th century with breathtaking professionalism. Crystalline humour, which is characteristic for the theatre was able to keep the audience in a happy mood during the performances of the three episodes. The humorous presentation of the farce of everyday people’s lives was given the exotic touch of Japan by “European heads in Japanese costumes” as the Brno actors refer to themselves. They attacked this art and played and felt as if they were real natives from the land of the rising sun. Spectators could tell the difference only because they were talking them in Czech, but with melody and emotion of Japanese. Some dialogs were even performed in the language of their teacher.

In the theatre there were also compatriots, interested to know how Japan sounds on the theatre boards in Europe. The audience included a whole delegation led by the ambassador and other guests who were welcomed to Košice as part of the EU Japan Fest, which is presenting Japanese culture in the European Capital of Culture Košice 2013. And not only did they overcome distance, but also the language barrier.

Without language barriers

Although Japanese has relatively simple grammar, it is generally considered to be the most difficult language in the world. In Japanese the exact word spoken is not so important, rather the emotional stirrings that it raises. That is very unusual for Europeans.

The impression left upon audience member Eva says it all: “At times I completely forgot that it is a piece performed in Japanese. It was so close to me and natural that I could understand it. About the Japanese it is said that they are totally different from us, they live on the other side of the globe, the structure of the language is based on completely different principles than Western languages, and yet they are the same and do the same things, they are just coming from the opposite direction. I mean humour. They laugh and have fun about the same things as we do. I really enjoyed their performance. I was pleasantly surprised that the audience also included guests from Japan and that they participated in something that was intended for foreigners. It was so beautifully international in the way that only culture can be. It was refreshing, fun and had deep thought.”

The most famous mime in Slovakia brought Košice and Prešov to tears with his three performances. The St. Elisabeth’s Cathedral applauded to him on Saturday. “I am pleased that I can convey the emotion of the given situation, that it is not just like any other performance. There is a piece of humanity, tragedy of man,” said Sládek about the fourteen stations that tell us about the last moments of Jesus. Biblical images of suffering were verbally commented by presenter Štefan Bučko, who has collaborated with the most famous mime for 23 years. “Many clergymen initially did not know what to expect from that, some even thought it was demeaning,” recalls Bučko about the performance of the Stations of the Cross.

While the audience were frozen to the bone, Milan Sládek performed, within the cold walls of the St. Elisabeth’s Cathedral, wearing but a short T-shirt and a few layers of socks. “I felt cold, but I am never cold while moving on the stage.” His pantomime rendition of the Stations of the Cross was already successful last year, but this was his first show in the East. “For two or three months, I have dealt only with music,” says the mime about preparation. He had spent so much time developing it because he finds the preparation crucial for the audience’s understanding of the performance. “Also important is the move, it must be understandable so that people can believe me,” he said.

After the very first three performances of the Stations of the Cross Sládek said that he would not play it anymore. His native village near Púchov convinced him otherwise. “These were people who had never been at the theatre, and they understood the Stations of the Cross.” Their reactions were very nice, so he decided he would keep playing the piece.

Sládek is a role model for the younger generation of the oldest performing art form. “I am delighted when I inspire people, when they consider me their teacher, but I love originality as well.”

After the performance, Milan Sládek enjoyed dinner with his former classmate Juraj Jakubisko. He spent a short time in Košice till Sunday. His will continue performing in Germany until Good Friday.

 Veronika Cholewová

There were no props on the stage, only “maximalistic-minimalistic” backdrops. The actors were there on their own. They did not present the real world, but relied on the audience’s imagination. At the beginning, the theatre audience was explained in detail the Japanese genre, typical moves, laughing, thinking, facial expressions, etc. The brief humorous introduction engaged one spectator, who became part of the performance.

People always understand kyōgen after all

 The Little Kyōgen Theatre Brno actors offered the audience the Japanese farce “Boshibari” (“Tied to a Pole”). “We rehearsed it in 2010 under the leadership of our colleague who had lived in Japan for 10 years,” says Igor Dostálek. Every four years he organises a workshop where a kyōgen farce is rehearsed. Czech actors say it takes them about 10 days, but a complete performance requires up to two months. “Japanese actors rehearse one kyōgen for one year,” adds Tomáš Pavčík.

Despite the genre, which is still something new for the people, they have never experienced that the audience would not have understood the performance. “Although there is some language barrier, there are simple medieval jokes, the same intercultural elements and identical comedy features all around the world.”

Splinter in the foot – the most common injury on stage

Actors are almost barefoot, therefore their most common injuries include a splinter in the foot. “European stages are not as clean and smooth as Japanese stages that are smoothened and lacquered. So it happens every now and then that you get a splinter in the foot.” Actors also have aching joints because the seated position is more demanding and painful. They do not complain, but comment: “Everything is all right unless a lamp lands on your head,” laughs Karel Šmerek.

Kyōgen in their veins

The main stars of the evening, the Kyoto-based Shigeyama family’s actors – two siblings and their father – performed the Japanese kyōgen farce “Buaku”. The extraordinary viewing experience was enhanced by the actors´ native language, with Czech subtitles. The play began tragically and ended with humour. The combination of samurai traditions, Japanese art, tragedy and a great deal of humour was rewarded by frenetic applause.

Veronika Cholewová