Cosmos is a production that can be put on par with major European ones, which the National Theatre Prague has long lacked. It combines the excellent performances of all the actors, especially Matyáš Řezníček in the title role, a use of live cinema which is unusually consistent when compared with the domestic theatre environment, and a confident interpretation of the original prose.
Marcela Magdová, kød (konkrétne ø divadle) 1/2020
The last novel by one of the most important authors of the twentieth century is a story at the imaginary end of history, when the old order with faith in God is no longer valid but a new one has not yet been created. Witold Gombrowicz is considered a forerunner of existentialism, his world is grotesquely distorted and full of absurd humour.
This adventurous, noir-tinged journey to the dark side of the mind has been scripted and directed by Ivan Buraj with the contribution of Jan Kačena. Their dramatization is based on a parallel depiction of the disintegration which both the outer world of an abandoned boarding house and the inner world of the protagonist Witold are going through in the novel. His running away from home triggers a series of strange events (or signs?), to which he tries to find an answer. Hot weather, boredom, erotic daydreaming and a sparrow hung in the bushes lead him to try to create his own cosmos, system and order in his mind. Is what is going on in Witold’s head reality or delusion? To what extent is reality distorted? And do we have control over our consciousness?
The creators included scenes shot live on camera in the production to better portray the dialogue Witold leads with himself in his head. We can watch the action on stage and on screen at the same time. Buraj has already applied the live cinema method in his successful interpretation of Ibsen’s drama Eyolf, which also attracted attention with its inventive concept at the 2018 Flora Theatre Festival.
directed by Ivan Buraj
translation Erich Sojka
dramatization Ivan Buraj, Jan Kačena
dramaturgy Jan Tošovský
set Antonín Šilar
sets assistant Františka Králíková
costumes Kateřina Kumhalová
music Tomáš Vtípil
photography Dominik Žižka, Jakub Jelen
editing Alan Sýs
light design Robert Palkovič
sound design Michal Cáb
characters and cast
Witold Matyáš Řezníček
Fuks Jan Bidlas
Leon Ondřej Pavelka
Kulička Jana Boušková / Lucie Brychtová
Lena Jindřiška Dudziaková
Kataša Tereza Vilišová
Ludvík Radúz Mácha
Lulek Filip Rajmont
Lulka Pavla Beretová
Hedička Pavlína Štorková
Kněz (Witold's alter ego) Petr Reif guest performance
Tolek Luděk Fuxa guest performance
Premiere 14 and 15 November 2019
Warning: Strobe lights and loud music are used during this performance.
Ivan Buraj (1988) was born in Bratislava. While studying drama directing at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno, he was already working as an intern at the National Theatre Prague with Robert Wilson's production of The Makropulos Case (2010). He earned his Masters' degree in 2011 with his adaptation of Kleist's The Prince of Homburg, which was successful at the ISTROPOLITANA festival in Bratislava (special award of the jury and audience award) and was even nominated for the Theatre Newspaper Award.
He has been the artistic director of HaDivadlo since 2015, where he has prepared 10 productions thus far. He attracted the attention of the critics with his ambitious adaptation of Herman Broch's trilogy The Sleepwalkers (2016) or Ibsen’s Eyolf. With staging Gorky’s Provincials (Divadelní noviny award for best drama), Buraj initiated a line of production where he attempts to cope with realism in the context of the crisis of an individual isolated in his/her inability to perceive others – all three productions were featured at the past editions of the festival. The second prominent line which threads through Buraj’s work is reflection on climate change and the effort to integrate radical ecology into the theatre process. In light of this belief, productions such as Ours, Perception or Cosmos (National Theatre) were created. Cosmos together with Provincials and Stiller (Studio Hrdinů) together make up Buraj’s trilogy on the critique of anthropocentrism. Flora theatre festival follows the production of Ivan Buraj closely and will offer four of his productions in this year’s focus on the director’s work: Ours, Perception, Vernissage and Cosmos.
The National Theatre Prague is the representative stage of the Czech Republic. As is stated in the Preamble to the theatre’s Statute, it is “one of the symbols of national identity and part of the European cultural space. It is both a carrier of national cultural heritage and a space for free artistic creation.” Four artistic ensembles take part in its presentation: Drama, Opera, Ballet, and the multimedia Laterna magika company.
The Drama Ensemble of the National Theatre with its forty actors is the largest theatre company in the Czech Republic. Classic titles of Czech and international repertoire are offered in the buildings of the National and Estates Theatres, while the progressive New Stage presents original authorial projects and Czech premieres. This year, Daniela Špinar is prematurely leaving the post of artistic director, after more or less successful attempts to disregard the conservative tendencies of official positions and create an open institution with a dramaturgically and ideologically defined programme, co-created with the main director Jan Frič and renowned guest artists (Jan Mikulášek, Ivan Buraj, Jan Kačena, SKUTR). The competition for the new management was won by the project of the SKUTR directing tandem, Martin Kukučka and Lukáš Trpišovský, who will take over the post from next season.
Links
The National Theatre’s podcast To the Core of Things: Cosmos – a dramaturgical excursus
(Warning: listening to it may cause dizziness)
Veronika Štefanová’s Interview with Ivan Buraj about the production Cosmos, ČRo Vltava (time 23:00–28:00)
photo Martin Špelda
