While Chekhov gradually doses the sense of hopelessness between the lines of neat dialogue of a seemingly elegant, privileged society, Amsler demonstratively exposes the mental state of the characters through the actors’ interpretation of the text, their diction, movement and action. We can see their inner processes and thoughts as the lining of a coat turned inside out.
Martina Mašlárová, kød, 2/2022
The ensemble of performers fully connected with the bold interpretive view: with regard to acting, this production is one of the best, most complex and stylistically purest works of the latest era of the Martin theatre. Through highly stylized acting and movement language, Marián Amsler managed to consistently express the mental depth of the characters.
Karol Mišovic, Pravda, 16 November 2021
“The first thing I said to myself was that under no circumstances should the production take place in some salon where we put nice sofas, then everybody comes in, sits down and starts talking. I do not enjoy this kind of conversational theatre any longer. I wanted to break the usual stereotype of what the production should look like. That is why we banned furniture and even seats,” revealed the director Marián Amsler in an interview.
In his artistic career, he persistently returns to Chekhov’s plays. In Three Sisters put on stage in Martin, he took the path of breaking conventional interpretations and staged the iconic, notorious play in a completely innovative way, without slipping into autotelism or trivializing Chekhovian motifs of hopelessness, isolation, thwarted ambitions and the powerlessness to break out of the vacuum of life. In contradiction with the movement action, the lines sound even more direct. Using the means of non-verbal theatre on an almost empty stage, evoking the sterility of hospital rooms, Amsler achieves an extraordinarily multi-dimensional theatrical experience, enhanced by the music of Ivan Acher. Even after a hundred and twenty years, the aspirations and hopes of uprooted, internally lonely characters are still relevant and contemporary.
directed by Marián Amsler
translation Ľubomír Vajdička
adaptation Marián Amsler
dramaturgy Róbert Mankovecký
stage design Juraj Kuchárek
costumes Marija Havran
music Ivan Acher
movement cooperation Stanislava Vlčeková
characters and cast
Oľga Lucia Jašková
Máša Alena Pajtinková
Irina Barbora Palčíková
Nataša Nadežda Vladařová
Andrej Matej Babej
Veršinin Ján Dobrík
Tuzenbach Daniel Žulčák
Solený Jaroslav Kysel
Kulygin Tomáš Mischura
Čebutykin František Výrostko
Ferapont Michal Gazdík
Anfisa Ľubomíra Krkošková
Fedotik, Rode Matej Urban
premiere 12 November 2021
Marián Amsler (1979) already as a student of the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava established himself as a mature theatre artist who was able to clearly and with high artistic quality convey his point of view through a stage production. His school work – directing Chekhov’s play Platonov and Ivanov – oscillated between comedy, farce and drama, and represented a generational commentary on present-day society. For both of them, he won the DOSKY Award in the Discovery of the Year category. He later won this award again for his drama productions at the Slovak National Theatre: Pohani (Pagans) and Fanny a Alexander (Fanny and Alexander).
As a sought-after director, he shuttles between Slovak and Czech stages, where he has drawn attention to himself with his engagement at HaDivadlo (Jsem Kraftwerk/I am Kraftwerk, Vyhnání Gerty Schnirch/The Expulsion of Gerta Schnirch – the Award of Divadelní noviny 2014/15) or the acclaimed musical Lazarus (2019) based on the music of David Bowie which was staged at Divadlo Komedie. He frequently stages contemporary plays (by O. Muchinová, V. Sigarev, F. Richtr, V. Klimáček, etc.) and he also initiated the creation of Divadlo Letí. In addition to Chekhov’s works, he also deals with queer themes (Small Town Boy, Socializmus s teplou tvárou/Socialism with a Warm Face).
The Slovak Chamber Theatre (Slovenské komorné divadlo – SKD) in Martin was founded in 1944 as the second professional Slovak theatre. The SKD has significantly shaped Slovak culture and its name is associated with a range of important directors (A. Bagar, P. Scherhaufer, and the dramaturge M. Porubjak) and the actors (J. Kroner, V. Müller, Š. Kvietik, E. Krížiková, M. Kňažko).
The award-winning productions of Ľubomír Vajdička (
Sedem dní do pohrebu/Seven Days to the Funeral), Roman Polák (
Ivanov and
Mizantop/Misanthrope) or Dodo Gombár (
Štúrovci and
www.narodnycintorin.sk), and regular guest appearances at major festivals prove the prestige and quality of the ensemble. At the Flora Theatre Festival, the SKD has already presented two productions directed by Polák (
Striptíz Tartuffe/Striptease Tartuffe and
Ivanov) and the production
Les (Forest) by Lukáš Brutovský, the current artistic director.
