The Stadler Foundation partners with a unique theatre project: the Master and Margaret in Hrzán Palace
The premiere will take place on Thursday 2 June 2022 at 7 pm in the Baroque palace of the Hrzán family from Harasov, Celetná 12, Prague 1. The series of 35 performances will be closed by a dernière on 15 July 2022.
The capital city and its inhabitants have fallen victim to magical hypnosis and evil manipulation that reveals their bad qualities. The devil and his entourage, consisting of a cat, a regenschori, a demon and a vampire, impenetrably knot the world with a series of tricks, spells and incantations and turn it upside down. The way out of the crisis is radical and the solution will please no one.
The directorial and dramaturgical concept was prepared by the creative tandem Marie Nováková and Ivo Kristián Kubák from the Tygr v tísni ensemble, who follow the successful immersive projects GOLEM Štvanice and CAMPQ.
"We have been carrying the project of Mister and Margaret in our heads for 7 years. The immersive concept is the only possible way to convey this multi-layered novel to the audience in its entirety. The themes we are emphasising, i.e. corruption, the crisis of the world and its possible radical solutions, are always and everywhere topical," says Ivo Kristián Kubák. "In its complexity, the production is aimed at experienced players and theatre voyeurs," he adds.
The title roles will be played by Anna Schmidtmajerová and Marie Švestková, respectively, and Petr Reif. The audience will also see Filip Kaňkovský, Vladimír Benderský, Matěj Anděl, Pavel Neškudla, Jiří Kniha, Anna Kratochvílová and others - more than 40 actors in total.
On four floors of the building, in thirty rooms, the audience will visit Moscow, Jerusalem, Yalta and the infinite universe in one evening. The author of the elaborate set design is Ivana Kannhäuserová, the costumes are the work of Anna Hrušková.
"The world of the novel is full of people who are swimming in the mire of pettiness, absurd ideology and low aspirations. They live from day to day, from deception to deception, from bottle to bottle, from betrayal to betrayal, from anxiety to anxiety. Unable to see beyond the evening meeting, they persecute those who surpass them spiritually. Their daily struggle is a life without meaning. The world is so corrupted that good can no longer save it. After all, the Savior who believed that men were good was executed two thousand years ago. And so evil comes on the scene in the form of the devil and his entourage and brings a radical solution to the crisis. Only those who know the truth, love, believe, do not lose hope, have the courage to cross their own limits and plunge headlong into the abyss can save themselves," concludes Marie Nováková, co-author of the directorial and dramatic concept.
The building of the historic Hrzán Palace from Haras's Tiger in Distress ensemble was lent for the duration of the project by the Stadler-Trier Foundation, which has long been dedicated to supporting young talents in the field of classical music and their artistic development.
About Tiger in distress
Since its foundation in 2010, the independent theatre company has been exploring the foundations on which contemporary European society, its culture and ultimately its survival stand. It often finds its themes in texts that are not primarily dramatic and translates them into a stage form that goes beyond the conventional rules of drama. The leading figures of the association are director Ivo Kristián Kubák, dramaturge and author Marie Nováková and director Zuzana Burianová.
Tygr v tísni is one of the Czech pioneers of immersive theatre, whose principles are consistently applied. Among the most notable productions is the interactive event GOLEM Štvanice, which took place in the classicist Villa on the island of Štvanice. Today, the VILA Štvanice Theatre is a permanent stage for Tiger in Distress and other companies.
www.mistramarketka.cz
www.tygrvtisni.cz
