Just about everyone knows from the media that there are organizations called Doctors Without Borders and Reporters Without Borders. But few people realize that our capital city also has a theater called “Without Borders.” And not just any theater. Its 100-seat auditorium may look somewhat modest compared to other established theaters, but this venue is gaining increasing popularity among audiences thanks to its unconventional repertoire. Most of the plays AT THEATRE WITHOUT BORDERS have an EROTIC theme.
Let us recall MANDRAGORA by Machiavelli, the famous classic Renaissance comedy with witty dialogues and sophisticated plots, which laid one of the foundations of modern comedy. The philanderer Calimach longs for a romantic affair with the young and beautiful Lucretia, who is, unfortunately, the wife of her elderly husband Micula, who dreams of a son and heir. The servant Ligur persuades Kalimach to disguise himself as a doctor and tell Mikula a lie, namely that a guaranteed remedy for increasing fertility is an extract from the mandrake root, which, however, will allegedly also kill the first man to make love to the woman in question. Mikula believes Kalimach and accepts his suggestion that he find a random fool for his first lovemaking with Lucretia…
Another interesting project is RACAJDA, which is based on the book and subsequently the play by E. E. Kisch, Tonka Šibenice. Adapted by Miloš Macourek, the play tells the story of Antonie Havlová, a prostitute with multiple criminal convictions who spent the night with the cruel murderer Prokůpek before his hanging to fulfill his last wish.
It is an intimate comedy based on the real-life figure of a Prague gangster from that era. The magic of the performance lies in the fact that the audience in the hall becomes a heavenly tribunal that will either accept the deceased Tonka into heaven or condemn her to hell. Actress Milena Kleinerová was shortlisted for the 2016 THÁLIE Award for her performance as Antonie Havlová in this production.
The most recent production can be considered MURDER BY SEX by Joan Shirley. It is a brilliantly written English comedy about a man who has trouble finding himself. Bernie decides to quit his job and devote himself to the visual arts—unfortunately, his only work so far is a botched self-portrait.
His wife, Dr. Nikol, has to move her practice home due to renovation work. And as if that weren’t enough, their confused and nearsighted Aunt Dot also lives in the house; on top of all that, a hysterical and pushy patient named Val shows up to ask Nikol, her doctor, if she can give birth to her seventh child in the makeshift bathroom-turned-clinic. In addition to the birth, the characters must also deal with hiding a corpse and an unexpected visit from a mistress…
A major theatrical achievement seems to be the staging of Pina Ammendola’s play I’LL BE GAY FOR CHRISTMAS, which I personally saw. Teacher Peppino is an unfaithful middle-aged man with a very jealous girlfriend. He isn’t exactly rolling in money, but he relies on his uncle, who owns the Puci Puci pizza chain in America. His uncle is planning to retire and hand the business over to his nephew.
However, there is one catch—his uncle is a self-proclaimed gay man and demands that Peppino also be “into guys”!!! What now? The Christmas visit has been announced. The nephew therefore has very little time to convince and persuade his good friend to pretend to be a couple in love together. Their “courtship” and joint preparations for the uncle’s arrival naturally give rise to a whole series of hilarious scenes, which culminate in a very surprising and unexpected conclusion…
It is a play for five actors. It was written three years ago by a well-known Italian actor and playwright, who directed it himself and performed in it for quite some time. Perhaps because the script is polished down to the last sentence, the production continues to receive great acclaim in Italy to this day.
As for the performances in the Prague production, it’s hilarious to watch Jan Bartoška (playing Peppino) and Radek Fejta (playing Ercole) as they use an instructional videotape to master the movements and facial expressions of a homosexual man, especially when the instructions are given by Václav Luks (playing the instructor).
No less interesting is the subsequent dance lesson set to music from Swan Lake in ballet costumes, as well as to a Christmas ditty in a female Santa Claus costume.
The well-known film *The Cage of Fools* is evoked by a stage scene that undergoes a transformation, with the sole difference that in this production, the female nudes and props are swapped for male ones… A delightful touch is the musical accompaniment in an Italian rhythm; the audience is thus transported back to the days of melodic cantilenas, which until recently were still played on Czech radio. There is no shortage of feminine tenderness in the semi-nude performances of Michaela Marečková (in the role of Margherita’s lover) and Petra Arnautová (in the role of Luana’s lover), who, on the contrary, fit in very well with the times today, if I may mention BDSM practices.
And finally, it’s time to assess Jiří Pivrnec’s performance (in the role of Uncle Frankie). Here, I must unfortunately admit that I don’t find him very convincing, at least in comparison to the dynamic performances of the other cast members; nevertheless, he still manages to tickle the ribs with his exaggerated gestures. The finale itself is also a laugh-a-minute, as the entire cast bids farewell to the audience witha lively choreography set to the Village People’s hit “YMCA,”a song often played in gay clubs. Petr Míka handled the set design and direction, and Lucie Albrecht designed the costumes. Don’t miss it! I highly recommend it.
THEATER WITHOUT BORDERS has a permanent professional troupe, but its space is also available to semi-professional groups such as Maškara, Improvizace, and others, which also have much to offer. Moreover, it is living proof that even a small troupe can create great art. And entertaining an audience today is no easy feat!!! The theater, located in Prague’s Nusle district (near Fidlovačka), also features an intimate bar where interesting exhibitions are held. You can learn more about the program and repertoire at its website.
Source of photos from the play Na Vánoce budu gay: the theater’s website
Your opinions 2 opinions
Dobry den, na uvedenem odkazu je sice povidani o divadle, ale chybi program na zari. Ziju s pritelkyni v Plzni a rada bych ji ukazala Prahu (kde jsem studovala) a zaroven ji vzala do divadla. Volala jsem do pokladny, ale nikdo to nebral. Asi maji jeste prazdniny. Rada bych vedela, kdy se predstaveni kona a kdy mohu objednat vstupenky. Mozna mate vice informaci. Dekuji Julie
PS.: Planujeme vylet treti vikend v zari, ale muzeme se prizpusobit.
Hezký den,
divadlo už na svých stránkách program zveřejnilo – http://divadlobezhranic.cz/program.php?Obdobi=09. Případně je tam ještě ptogram na říjen 🙂
Taky jsem na tom byla, je to velka svanda. Syn Bartosky v roli vnuka je kouzelnej.
Děkujeme za zpětnou vazbu 🙂 Snad ji navštíví s radostí i více sledujících.