2024-09-16 17:33:14
Prague’s Jatka78 theater opened its tenth jubilee season this Tuesday with the world premiere of A Study of Losses by the Swedish company Kompani Giraff. It is accompanied by original music by the American indie-folk band Beirut.
The novel, directed by Viktoria Dalborg, was loosely inspired by the book A List of Several Losses by the German author Judith Schalansky. It is based on the playful idea that everything that has been lost and disappeared in history on Earth has found its way to the Moon. Including four circus performers and some ordinary objects. Prague residents can see A Study of Losses until Saturday evening, tickets are still on sale.
The Swedish new circus troupe Kompani Giraff was founded in 2015. It has three artistic directors and creates performances based on poetic stories or a passion for the magic it seeks in everyday situations.
Forty-three-year-old German writer and graphic artist Judith Schalansky has published the books Atlas of Remote Islands and Giraffe’s Neck in Czech. A list of several losses appeared in German in 2018. “The novel in the style of magical realism depicts life and history as a series of losses and disappearances. Empires crumble, buildings turn into ruins, cultural artifacts are destroyed, animals face extinction. Most of the losses remain hidden from us . We think we are watching history, but basically it is only what has been temporarily preserved in a huge sea of losses,” the creators of the dramatization state.
“In the performance, we explore the apocalyptic themes of loss and disappearance from Judith Schalansky’s book in a circus and metaphorical language,” adds director Viktoria Dalborg. “The stage is set in a vanished landscape, where performers and everyday objects appear in an environment of twisted ruins. The great music of Beirut has become the basis of the performance, enhancing its atmosphere and celebrating the beauty of life,” he thinks. The band’s frontman Zach Condon composed 18 songs for the project, which will be released as a separate album.
The tenth season of the scene based in Holešovice’s market hall, which focuses on new circus, dance and non-verbal or alternative theater, began with the hosting of a Swedish ensemble. Starting this week, the local gallery can also see the exhibition of the painter Nikola Kopp Lourková called Option.
Another premiere awaits Jatka78 on September 17. In the production called Tepy čar, the young dance company Manus Art Collective combines dance with live music by singer and producer Never Sol and artwork by artist Lukáš Musa Musil.
On September 27, Cirk La Putyka will premiere the production Hey, Earth, which takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. He draws inspiration from the novels A Clockwork Orange, 1984 or Cesta, as well as sports matches.
The very next day, Studio Jantar with a young generation of actors will present a new concept of the classic theme in a production called In the name of Hamlet.
On October 31, the ensemble Dekkadancers, directed by dancer and choreographer Jiří Pokorný, will present the Andes project about the social environment as a crumbling system in which relationships are lost.
On November 16, the Dutch-German-Belgian acrobatic trio Knot on Hands will introduce the Czech audience to the performance Concrete. From December 7 to January 12, 2025, a series of 29 performances of the new circus cabaret RIE – Rest In Euphoria, again by the Cirk La Putyka ensemble, will take place in the new year.
Jatka78 has been operating in the Holešovice market since November 2014, the principal behind La Putyka Circus Rosťa Novák Jr. The theater serves as the home stage of Circus La Putyka, Dekkadancers and the Heaven’s Gate ensemble.
Along with a multifunctional theater hall, a small stage, a training hall, a gallery and a bar, the stage in the Asylum 78 marquee is also in operation.
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