KOČKA NA KOLEJÍCH
BY JOSEF TOPOL
March 2022, Divadlo DISK, Prague.
“Islandský režisér dokázal, že Topolova hra je i po téměř šedesáti letech aktuální a bude tomu tak i nadále.
“The Icelandic director proves that after 60 years Topol’s play is still relevant.”
Two lovers, Évi and Véna, wait for a train. This is the plot of Josef Topol‘s most famous play: Kočka na kolejích. It sounds simple but from this material the author creates one of the most intriguing stories of Czech modern theatre. The lovers discuss their relationship, contemplating the past, present, and future. But what seems to be a banal quarrel between the couple, Topol turns into a timeless and existential debate. With his new adaptation, Icelandic director Adolf Smári Unnarsson cuts the text to its core and brings it into contemporary context. Nothing is what it seems, the play is ever-changing and always surprising; turning from cynical to sublime, from cruelty to affection, from hope to despair. The couple talk and fall silent, play and attack, reach out and push back, tell lies, and speak the truth. The dialogue is realistic and absurd, poetic but grotesque. Gradually the characters unmask themselves and sit exhausted on the rails that lead back to Prague. But the text is not only a portrait of a dysfunctional relationship; it's a poem about human existence. It's Waiting for Godot if Vladimir and Estragon were lovers. A true Czech classic.
Performed in Czech.
Adaptation and direction: Adolf Smári Unnarsson
Text: Josef Topol.
Dramaturg: Michal Zahálka.
Set and costumes: Hana Kessneróva.
Music: Ramin Kuliev
Production: Vlada Yurko
Graphics: Alina Sokolova
Cast: Évi: Hana Šimková Véna: František Beleš.
