Divadlo Husa na Provázku and the "Absence" of Czech

Divadlo Husa na Provázku and the "Absence" of Czech Community
Author(s): Dennis C. Beck
Source: Theatre Journal, Vol. 48, No. 4, Eastern European-Transitions (Dec., 1996), pp. 419-441
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
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Divadlo Husa na Provazkuand the
"Absence" of Czech Community
Dennis C. Beck
willthenationsuffer
intellectual
andmoralimpotence
Whatprofound
followtomorrow,
ofitsculture
effects
onsociety
willoutlast
today?I fearthatthebaneful
ingthecastration
thatgaverisetothem.
interests
political
bymanyyearstheparticular
-Vaclav Havel,"Letter
toDr.GustavHusAk,"
19751
A new generationofCzech smalltheatresemergedat thebeginningofthe1970sin
response to the politicaland culturalconditionsimposed afterthe Warsaw Pact's
divadla(authorialtheatres),
these
suppressionofthePragueSpring.Knownas autorskMi
fivecompaniesled theCzech theatrein innovationand politicalengagementforthe
nexttwentyyears.2PetrOslzly,artisticdirectorand dramaturgofthemostimportant
Divadlo Husa na provaizku(TheatreGoose on a String),has pointed
of thesetheatres,
autorskd
divadlasustained"a community
oftheintellect
out thatthe
and thespiritwith
theiraudiences at a timewhen societywas being atomizedand people were withdrawing into the securityof theirown homes."3As theydeveloped increasingly
effectivedramaturgicaltechniquesto avoid the effectsof censorshipand hence to
condoned ideologicalframework,
these alternativethespeak outside the officially
atresbegan to serveas "small islandsof relativespiritualfreedom,"surroundedby a
sea of totalitarian
authority(101).
Carefullymaintainedduringtheyearsof Sovietoccupation,thisrolelaterallowed
an equallydecisiveroleduringthe"Velvet"Revolution
theautorskM
divadlato perform
of 1989.As Oslzly notes,
oftheatre
an enclaveofmoralfreedom,
[t]hecommunity
peopleandspectators,
formerly
forfreedom.
now becamethecenterof thestruggle
The humantiesand mutualtrust
createdovera longtimebetweenactorsand publicnow paid off,ensuring
efficiency
therevolution.
amongthosemaking
[100]
DennisBeckis a Ph.D. candidateat theUniversity
a Fulbright
Fellow
ofTexasat Austin.He is currently
in theCzechRepublicconducting
dissertation
research
on thehistory
and dramaturgy
ofCzechoslovak
theatres
duringtheperiodfrom1968 to 1990. He servesas coeditor
ofthejournalTheatre InSight.
VAclavHavel,"Letterto Dr. GustavHusak,"in Vdclav
ed. JanVladislav
Havel,orLivingin Truth,
(London:Faberand Faber,1987),23.
wereDivadloHusa na provazkuand HaDivadlo,bothin Brno;StudioYpsilon,
2 The fivetheatres
whichbeganinLiberecbutwas pressured
tomovetoPraguein 1978;Divadlona
bythegovernment
industrial
townofUistion the
okraji,inPrague;andbinohernistudioUstina Labem,in thenorthern
Labe river.As we shallsee,it'simportant
to notethatfourofthesefivetheatres
outside
originated
Prague.
"On StagewiththeVelvetRevolution,"
TheDramaReview
34.4(1990):100.
3 PetrOslzly},
I
TheatreJournal48 (1996) 419-441 @ 1996 by The JohnsHopkins UniversityPress
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420 / DennisC. Beck
The Czech small theatresrealizeda dreamsharedby manytheatreradicalsof the
1960s-to establishcommunionwiththeiraudiencesand to help change the world
outside the theatre.But then,having fulfilledthe purpose for which they had
theautorsMa
divadlafoundthemselvesfacedwitha crisis
developed theirdramaturgy,
of purpose. They also saw the communitiestheyhad helped to forgedissolve in
politicaland culturalsituation.
responseto a verydifferent
ofthesetheatresraiseseveralsignificant
circumstances
The past historyand current
theatre
vital
role
Is
the
playedby
duringtheyearsofSovietoccupationfrom
questions.
1968-1989and duringthe"Velvet"Revolutionitselfone thatcan be sustainedunder
Did communistrule inadvertently
recreatea communal
democraticcircumstances?
in modern,capitalist,
social dynamicthatRobertCorriganhas called "anachronistic"
societies?4I will considerthesequestionsby tracingthehistoryof Divadlo Husa na
oftheautorska
divadla
provazku-(TheatreGoose on a String),thenthemostinfluential
Czechoslovakiaand now one of themostimportant
theatresin the
in pre-revolution
Czech Republic.
Death of the Author/Birthof the Authorial
In 1968, Czechoslovakia became a unifiedcommunityonce again. During the
Prague Spring,which lasted from5 Januaryto 21 August 1968, the state (stat,
in a way unequaled since
collective)began tojoin withthenation(narod,community)
of
theFirstCzechoslovak
of
298
the formation,
domination,
years
foreign
following
"social
the
in
1918.
However,
homogeneity
[gave]rise
although community's
Republic
also to a certainethicaldemocracy,"it was still ensconced in the wider political
collectiveof the Soviet bloc.5In August, that collectivedecided that the Czech
its "leadingrole"-its role as the
communistpartyhad gone too farin surrendering
authorof society'stext.
whichbegan a four-year
Soviet tankshelped installa new government,
period it
Undertheleadershipof GustAvHusik, who became party
dubbed "normalization."
were reimposed.Carefully
FirstSecretaryin 1969,hierarchicalorderand structure
timingits actionsto avoid arousingattentionin theworld outside,the government
closed some theatresand broughttherestundercentralizedcontrol.By mid-1971the
ofCzech theatre
individualswho had been mostresponsiblefortheartisticflowering
in the1960s-writerslikeViclav Havel and Pavel Kohout,and directorslikeOtomar
Krej'a and JanGrossman-had been bannedfromworkingin thetheatreor exiledto
theprovinces.Moreover,theconditionsthatprevailedafter1968did not inspirenew
writingtalentattunedto theissues oftheday to writefora mediumfromwhichany
conditionswould be excluded.
ofcontemporary
accuratereflection
As in 1948, the Czech theatrefaced a break in its development.Unlike 1948,
and helped
however,no wave ofpopularopinionsupportedthenew powerstructure
enforceitspoliciesin spiritas well as letter.Conditionsmorecloselyresembledthose
of the Nazi occupation,in which the populace joined its artistsin resistingand
thepowerof therulingstructure.
circumventing
4 Robert
of the Individual in the Modern Theatre,"in TheTheatrein
Corrigan,"The Transformation
Searchofa Fix (New York: Delacorte,1973), 192.
The Restoration
1969-1976,trans.by
of Czechoslovakia,
of Order:The Normalization
s Milan ?imeeka,
A. G. Brain (London: Verso, 1984), 149.
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DIVADLO NA PROVAZKUAND CZECH COMMUNITY /
421
Theatreartistswere able to findlimitedways to expresstheirviews throughsuch
non-verbalstatementsas set designs depictingdepressingand destroyedenvironwere allowed to expressonly the
ments.For the mostpart,however,performances
an
or
at
most
what
seemed
line
innocuous
universalism,Althoughnever
party
declaredas an officialpolicy,censorshipwas stronglyexercised.6
In the 1960s,Czech theatrehad again embracedpluralism,freedomof expression,
and thetheoriesofLudwigWittgenstein
deferredinterpretations,
(upon whichCzech
absurdismis based).' The theatremoved into a realm of poststructural
semiotics,
which can be definedbrieflyas a semioticsthatshuns Frenchstructuralism's
privileging of the universal or collectiveand its tendencyto assume a single and
determinablerelationshipbetweensignifierand signified-qualitiesvisible both in
socialist realism.In
communistpoliticalpracticeand in its aestheticcounterpart,
in
the
free
a
which
contrast,poststructural
semioticsopens up space
play ofsignifiers
or
intrinsic
constraints
but
is bounded notby determinable
biological,psychological,
or
communal
whose
extrinsic
social
factors-factors
and, therefore,
by
ambiguous
or understanding
butwhose
onlythrougha typeofsympathy
saliencyis determinable
"code" can be comprehendedonly throughmetaphorsand metonyms.Withinan
interpretivecommunity,such metaphors have definiteand varied signifieds.8
Poststructural
refusesto close meaning,to privilegea single
semiotics,therefore,
ideology,to totalize.As such it stood in ideologicaland practicaloppositionto postLeninistcommunistperspectives;it threatenedto underminethe "leading role" of
totalitarianism.
ideologicaland structural
Though normalization'sbans and censorshiplargelyended poststructural
experitheautorskd
mentation
divadlacarriedon thetradition'sspirit,ifnotits
by playwrights,
form,by developinga dramaturgy
thinking.
thoroughly
groundedin poststructural
Like all theautorskd
divadla,Divadlo Husa na provizku(Provizekin thenominative
case) was foundedand operatedon the physicaland Derridianmargins-or what
Provazek directorPeter Scherhaufercalls the "borders."''The original Husa na
provizku began in 1967as an open associationof professionaltheatreartists,theatre
ofotherarts.The grouptookitsnameand symbolic
students,and youngpractitioners
from
a
of
six experimental
collection
departurepoint
scriptswrittenfortheatre,film,
As Oslzyhasnotedwithbitter
thisleftCzechtheatre
envious
ofPoland,where
creators
irony,
wasofficial
andtheatre
therulesandthereasons
behind
censorship
peoplecouldatleastdistinguish
27July
andbans.PetrOslzly,interview
1995.
closures
CzechRepublic,
HorniDubenky,
byauthor,
6
inthetext.Unlessotherwise
to thisinterview
willbe includedparenthetically
Subsequentreferences
alltranslations
aremine.
indicated,
werenotnew to theCzechs.BeforeWorldWarII, thePragueSchoolhad
7 Such ideas,however,
developeda structuralist
theorythat,in contrastto the French"school,"allowed formultiple
and the existenceof an interpretive
Nascent
meanings,social contextualization,
community.
hadbecomepartoftheCzechintellectual
and aesthetic
therefore,
thought,
poststructural
heritage
by
1968.See, forexample,PeterSteiner,ed., ThePragueSchool:SelectedWritings,
1929-46(Austin:
ofTexasPress,1982);F. W. Galan,Historic
Structures:
ThePragueSchoolProject,
1928-1946
University
ofTexasPress,1985).
(Austin:University
FelixVodic'kadevelopedtheoriesof reception
and interpretive
communities
8Czech structuralist
fourdecadesbeforeStanleyFishclaimedandpopularizedtheideasintheEnglish-speaking
world.See
4 (1972):5-15.
oftheLiterary
Process,"Poetics
Vodi&ka's"TheIntegrity
interviewby author,Brno,Czech Republic,21 August1994.Subsequent
1PeterScherhaufer,
references
to thisinterview
willbe includedparenthetically
in thetext.
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422
/ DennisC. Beck
and circus in the early 1920s by JiriMahen, a Brno writerand dramaturgof the
NationalTheatre.The groupadoptedtheartisticattitudeofMahen'sHusa Na Provdzku
whichwas composedofopen workscombiningdiffering
(A Gooseona String),
genres,
fine
and
forms,
populararts,each pushingtheboundariesofacceptedrepresentation.
Out of the largerassociation,studentsof BofivojSrba formedthe theatrecompany,
Divadlo Husa na provazku.The core companyincluded the directorsEva Tailskai,
and the actors Boleslav Polivka, and Jifi
Zdenek Pospifil,and Peter Scherhaufer,
were
soon
Pecha. They
joined by composers,writers,designers,and later theatre
graduatesfromtheJanacekAcademyof theFineArtsand fromMasarykUniversity.
witha numberof
The companyis not exclusive,but maintainsa close relationship
artistswho workregularlywitha coregroupwhich,in turn,is notregularizedintoa
single entitybut branches into divisions of pantomime,informationallectures,
directors.
theatreforyouth,and theworkofa handfulofdistinctive
children'stheatre,
Provazekencouragedbetweenthevariousartsand theatrical
The cross-fertilization
witha regimethatsought,throughstrictlicensingand
artswas a bone ofcontention
to
compartmentalization, keep interactionand the flow of ideas to a minimum.
Nonetheless,threefactorshelped thecompanyto stayjust at theperipheryof official
controlled
vision.Itbeganin Brno,thecapitalofMoraviabutremovedfromthetightly
It
formed
was
by
politicalcenterof Prague, birthplaceof all Czech revolutions.
studentsa generationyoungerthantheindividualswho challengedthesystemduring
theatreforitsfirstfouryears;sinceitdid
the1960s.And itremainedan amateur-status
and
not requireattention-provoking
subsidies,it remainedunimportant
government
in the officialview. Provazek was able continuefunctioningon the
uninfluential
margin for twentyyears despite growing internationalattention,however,due
primarilyto its dramaturgy.
Bofivoj Srba, who taught the Provazek membersdramaturgyat the Janatek
programdesignedto fight
Academy,helped thecompanyarticulatea dramaturgical
in
more visible theatres,with its own
with the censors and not, as was the case
conscience.Srba's own teacher,E. E Burian,had helped shape his view that the
is its strictregulagovernment
greatestthreatand theAchillesheel of authoritarian
tion.10Srba reckonedthatif censorship'sjob was to regularizethinkinginto safe,
acceptedchannels,thenitsgoal could be subvertedby developinga methodthat,by
and hencecontrol.He outlinednotonlywhathe
itsverynature,defiedregularization,
but also a fullprogramof
called "irregulardramaturgy"(nepravidelzn
dramaturgie)
and
structure
Provaizek's
that
included
theatre
practices.
extra-dramaturgical
irregular
is its avoidance of convenof irregulardramaturgy
The mostsalientcharacteristic
to
are
texts
such
Because
texts.
tional,dramatic
subject priorcensorship,theyhave
of
theatre
focus
been the traditionallypreferred
regularization."Censorshipthat
"I
Burian had sufferedunder and worked to circumventNazi and communistcontrol over his
thinkingin the 1940s. His student Srba, then, constitutesa direct link between Czech interwar/
inverse
postwar traditions and Provazek. Moreover, for Provazek's program, Srba took as his
inspirationthe Czech experience of strictlyenforcedcultural "regularization"under the Austrian
Prince Metternichin the early nineteenthcentury.During this phase of Hapsburg occupation, the
theatressustained Czech communal consciousness by defyingthe officiallanguage (German) and
cultureof the Hapsburg Empire.
ii See ZygmuntHiibner,Theatreand Politics(Evanston:NorthwesternUniversityPress, 1992), 25 ff.
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DIVADLO NA PROVAZKUAND CZECH COMMUNITY /
423
invisibleto thepublic at
precedesthestagingofa theatricalworkremainseffectively
with
delimits
In
it
shares
self-censorship-their
temporalpriority
large. this,
qualities
thegrowthof thepossibleso deeplybecause theydeformthechildat themomentof
conceptionratherthanat birth.Provaizeksoughtto avoid thisconceptualcensorship
by beginningwith an idea or themeoutside the textualreach of the censorsand
ofwhatevermaterial-be it
and theimportation
developingit throughimprovisation
music or fictional,historical,and poetic texts-suited the evolving creation.As
"when censorshipwantsour text,we have none,
Scherhaufer
notesin his interview,
because we're creatingour own text."
"At the time,"accordingto Oslzl?, "we were not aware thatwe were takingthe
torchfromthe writers."12As "normalization"silencedthe playwrightsof the 1960s
with increasingeffectiveness,
however,irregulardramaturgy
helped companieslike
forcreatingtextsand publiccommentary
Provazekassume responsibility
on commurealities.
and
nal, spiritual,
political
in performance
Provazek couched its commentary
stylesthatdepartedradically
ofsocialistrealism.The departurewas morethanjustaesthetic.As
fromtheregularity
Mikl6sHarasztihas pointedout in TheVelvetPrison,therewas fortheparty
in fact,onlyonetaboo:therecognition
ofa variety
ofrealities
is forbidden,
including
any
ofone'sown."Realism"
thiswaynotbecauseitdoesnotwishto
separatereality
operates
knowaboutreality.
You do notneedmuchtheoretical
torealizethattherecanbe
training
no "real"reality
wheretherearemanyrealities.13
was redeployedas a governmentalweapon against pluralism.
Realism, therefore,
the
Stylisticregulationand textualcensorshipallowed forthe policingof plurality,
of
realities.
Aesthetics
were
a
not
mere
formal
correlative
to
the
multiple
suppression
but
influenced
the
content
and
ramifications
of
what
could
be
said
as
message, directly
well as thedepthor forcefulness
withwhichitcould be expressed.Aestheticscame to
in VaiclavHavel's definition)
content.14
signifypoliticaland moral("pre-political,"
Provizek's marginalposition,however,allowed ita degreeoffreedomin theuse of
style;it was the larger,morevisible,state-subsidizedtheatresthatcame under the
strictest
aestheticpressure.Provizek consistently
exploredtheborderseparatingthe
ideal offreedomand theconcrete,
limitsoffreedompossiblein theCzech
performable
totalitariansystem.In his interview,Peter Scherhauferstressesthat the company
createdand continuesto createa position"on theborderbetweenwhat is possible,
what is not possible;what is permissible,not permissible."In oppositionto realistic
indeterminism
became one of Provizek's most seadeterminism,poststructural
worthyships forexploringpreviouslyunchartedand forbiddenwaters.
It requiredsensitivesailing,however,to "develop a theatricallanguage forour
to
productionsthatwould be veryclear to sympathetic
spectatorsbut unintelligible
thetotalitarian
betweenthecensors'
watchdogsof culture."'5In fact,therelationship
and spectators'understanding
was muchmoresubtleand multi-faceted
thanOslzly's
Oslzl, "On Stage," 99.
Mikl6s Haraszti, The VelvetPrison:ArtistsUnderState Socialism(New York: Farrar,Straus and
Giroux, 1989), 121.
14 See VAclavHavel, "The Power of the Powerless," trans.P. Wilson, in
Livingin Truth,36-122.
I5 Oslzly, "On Stage," 99.
12
13
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424
/ DennisC. Beck
words suggest. The censors were rarelystupid, though they were oftenblinkered by
strictmandates to follow orders and shun independent thought and by the ideology
they served. It was precisely their lack of sympathy for an expressed idea that often
kept them fromrealizing the resonance a moment could create within the community
of sympathetic spectators.
Anatomicum(1973) illustrates the dynamic of
Provizek's production of Theatrumt
in
as
as
the
which
well
the company used indeterminismas an
way
comprehension
to
counter
the
censors'
moves.
The piece's outer frame was the
endgame strategy
a
of
a
about
the
body (politic), story
illegal dissection and display of human
prosection
bodies in the anatomical theatresof the late sixteenthand early seventeenthcenturies.
Inside this framewas nested another piece drawn froma more recenthistory-the tale
of Rudolf H6ss, which allowed the company to consider the Nazi concentration
camps. At the piece's core, however, was a criticismof Czechoslovakia's contemporary
political anatomy.As Oslzly explains in his interview,"there were not, fromour point
of view, any differencesbetween fascism and communism. . .. Two very similar
socialistic ideas .... ExtremeLeft,extreme Right,it's the same." Observing spectator
reactions to this popular piece, the censors understood that its actual subject was the
contemporary situation and communist rule. However, because the regime was
officially anti-fascist and because the anti-fascist theme replayed a common and
popular communist theatricalmotifof the immediate post-war years, the production
was, ostensibly,in the best interestsof the Husaik leadership. Therefore,the censors
had no justifiablereason forforbiddingthe H6ss sequence. Oslzly happily relates the
censors' visible anguish during the meeting following the special rehearsal meant to
determine the production's fate. Each side knew that a demand to cut the sequence
would be tantamount to admittingparallels between the Czech experiences of fascist
and communist rule. The section remained.
The example also suggests how much Provaizek's dramaturgy depended on its
community to empower its articulationof the unspeakable. To the autorskaidivadla,in
fact, the two "practices" became mutually supportive, if not dependent. Provaizek's
theatrical language was far fromincomprehensible to the watchdogs of culture, but
the effectivenessof this language depended on the learned and shared understandings
of a particular interpretivecommunity.Dramaturgy depended on community.True
membership in this community,in turn,could be gauged by the personal, emotional,
even spiritual involvement with the true but hidden subject of performance. Such
communities cohered throughemotional understandings-through historical,moral,
and spiritual identification.And these communities depended on dramaturgy,in turn,
to bring such understandings and identificationsinto the open, where they could be
recognized as communal.
Communityversus Collective
In 1973, just as the Czech autorskidivadla were beginning to come into their own,
Robert Corrigan undertook an explanation of why remarkably similar ideas of
communityvisible in the work of such leftistUS companies as the Living or the Open
theatres were doomed to failure. Speaking of the firstworld without making much
attempt to distinguish it from the second, Corrigan suggested that the kind of
"communion" for which contemporary practitioners searched "cannot exist in the
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DIVADLO NA PROVAZKUAND CZECH COMMUNITY /
425
modernworld;itis a lingering
He reasonedthatdue to the"self-sufficient
phantom."16
finitudeofman" stressedsincetheRenaissance,modernindividualslivein a collective
societyratherthan in a communalworld. Membersof communitieswere linked
togetherby commonoriginsand enjoyedrelationshipsthattended to be personal,
"because those forceswhich bind men together-values,attitudes,customs,traditions,rituals,and habits-are handed down as a commonheritagefromgenerationto
generation"(192). Modern collectiveson the otherhand-that is, politicalparties,
labor unions,largecorporations-donot derivefromthepast. Theyare,in contrast,
directedtoward the futureby theirmembers'and leaders' designs. As a result,
individualsin moderncollectiveshave onlyideas,projections,
and imposedcollective
goals, to linkthem-tenuouslyand unemotionally-toeach other.Collectivesdo not
fosterpersonal relationships;these would reduce efficiency
and make governing
difficultdue to conflicting
loyalties.Instead,collectivesidentifytheirmembersby
and ultimatealienation of
function-leading to the standardization,anonymity,
individuals.Reduced to representing
a
only specialized functionwithinthe larger
in which"humanqualitiestend
collective,theindividualundergoesa transformation
to atrophyand his personalityundergoessevere psychicand moral changes,and
eventuallyhe comes to lose all sense of his own identity"(195). Identityand
identification,
therefore,
appear relatedto,ifnotdependenton,a senseofcommunity.
communal
bonds,collectivesalso severecordsthatnourishidentity
By undercutting
Behind the Iron Curtain,dissidentVAclavHavel recognizeda similarcontrast
betweenthe communaland thecollective,but he consideredit anythingotherthan
inevitable.In his 1975"Letterto Dr.GustavHusik," Havel arguedthatthe
historically
demands of technologicalcivilizationand thedecliningawarenessof forcesbeyond
This tendency,
humanlyconstructed
systemshad led to a "crisisofhumanidentity.""
moreover,was severelyexacerbated,Havel argued,by the typeof societythatthe
Husak government
and centralizedfromabove. Community,
had restructured
which
had begunto breakthroughtheofficial
crustduringthe1968PragueSpring,had been
in ways thatechoed Corrigan'sdescripreplacedby a concretestructure,
functioning
tionofcollectives-a standardizedsystemin whichindividualswereexpendableand
The automizationofthesystemhad had a "deeplyinjuriousinfluence
interchangeable.
on the general spiritualand moral state of society"(22). Organizationsthatover
decades had developed into communitieswith shared values, attitudes,and customs-such as theWriters'Union,of whichHavel was a member-werereplacedby
new organizationsdirectedfromabove and forcedto expressthepartyview. Such a
mechanisticsystemwas opposed totheorganicstructures
oflifein Havel's view: "Life
rebelsagainstall uniformity
and leveling;itsaim is notsameness,butvariety"(23-24).
Life itself,therefore,
and pluralism.Constructedsystems
gives rise to multiplicity
fostercollectiveuniformity.
cannotbe stampedout completely,
however.Havel and others
Organicstructures
nurture
a
Czech
that
had
helped
community
slipped underground,representedby
divadlaproductions,and the offhandremark.Havel's
samizdatpublications,autorskd
experiencehad taughthim that collectivesand communitieswere not mutually
16
17
Corrigan,"Transformationof the Individual," 192.
Havel, "Letterto Husak," 15.
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426 / DennisC. Beck
coexistedand even helpedcreateone another.
exclusive;collectivesand communities
social structureand an intellectualcontextthattended to
Ensconcedin a different
on theotherhand,Corriganheld to theidea that
privilegeprogressivehistoriography,
one form-the collective-mustevolve fromand replace another-the community.
This differencein understandingunderscoresa differencein the definitionand
in theCzech and Western(particularly
functionofcommunity
US) contexts.
also generatedcontrasting
of the
in understanding
This difference
interpretations
in
and
state.
Conditions
Czechoslovakia
of
the
between
were,
society
relationship
course,farfromdemocratic.As a result,Czechs generallydid not regardthe state
apparatus as being in service to societal needs; rather,they perceived the state
was notan
therefore,
Community,
(collective)tobe theenemyofsociety(community).
but a livingpresencein activepoliticaland moral
ideal lost in the mistsof history,
betweenCzech
Anotherkeydifference
oppositionto an imposedcollectivestructure.
with
in
the
Czech idea of
its
association
and Westernconceptionsof community
lay
narod(or "nation").Accordingto thisconcept,thenationstandsless fora physically
bounded countrythanit does fora people-its culture,heritage,values,and history.
As such,narodhas servedas theconceptualbarricadesfromwhichCzechs have fought
offculturalerasureby colonialpowerssince1620."
betweencommunaland collectiveforcesinevitablyinfluencedthe
The relationship
The same yearin whichHavel senthis
roleand alliancesof theCzech smalltheatres.
Ivan
art
historian
Czech
to
letter
Husik,
Jiroustheorizedthe existenceof a
open
"second culture"in Czechoslovakia,which he characterizedas "a communityof
mutualsupport"composed of people "who want to live differently.... [and as] a
or on thehierarchyof
culturenot dependenton officialchannelsof communication,
was calling for
Benda
the
establishment."19
values of
By 1978,philosopherVaiclav
intoa
to
themselves
social
structures
but
isolated
hidden
Czechoslovakia's
organize
and
beneficial
the
of
necessary
"supplementing generally
"parallel polis" capable
and wherepossible,to use those
functionsthatare missingin theexistingstructures,
to humanizethem."20
In responseto Benda,thatsame yearHavel
existingstructures,
he raisedthestakesintotherealmof
which
wrote"The Power of thePowerless,"in
it may be said, representthe most
moralityand ethics:"These parallel structures,
articulatedexpressionsso far of 'living withinthe truth."'21Havel definedliving
withinthetruthas anymethodby whicha personor grouprevoltsagainstmanipulaand conscienceto a
tionand resiststheabdicationofhis or herreason,responsibility,
In a systemthatdemandssuchabdication,withitsinherent
rejection
higherauthority.
ofmultipleviews and pluralism,livingwithinthetruthworksas a kindof "bacterioofwhichderivesfromitssmallbeginningsbut
logicalweapon" (58),theeffectiveness
the conceptof
18 In the Czech context(and the contextin Poland, where a similarconceptfunctions),
nationalismsuch as thataffectingthe
narodhas not served thepurposes ofa blind,genocide-justifying
formerYugoslavia as much as a returnto Czech traditionsof freeintellectualendeavor,democracy,a
freemarket,and non-violence.Today, however,having outlived its overtpolitical usefulness,Czech
"nationalism"has transformedinto concernover a less militantkind of culturalerasure.
19Ivan Jirous,quoted in H. Gordon Skilling,"Introductory
Essay" to CivicFreedomin CentralEurope,
ed. Skillingand Paul Wilson (London: McMillan, 1991), 6.
20Viclav Benda, "The Parallel Polis,"in CivicFreedomin CentralEurope,36.
21 Havel, "The Power of the Powerless," 102.
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DIVADLO NA PROVAZKUAND CZECH COMMUNITY /
427
growing,indirectengagementwith the regime and with the totalitariansystem
inculcatedwithinindividuals.22
can be observedin
Havel saw cultureas "a spherein whichthe'parallelstructures'
theautorsku
divadlaprovidedthe
theirmosthighlydeveloped form"(101). Certainly,
could gathertogether-andgatheras
parallelpolis a place in whichitsconstituency
In an environment
thatMilan Simeekahas
more thanjust a theoreticalcommunity.
in all ofEasternEurope,"in
called "themostrepressiveand ideologicallyconservative
divadlaprovided
a countrywhere freedomof assemblywas forbidden,the autorsku
which
a
forum
could
take
as
well
in
as political/
institutional
public
place,
space
aestheticcontentfortheforumto consider.23
InstitutionalDeconstructions
Divadlo na provizku (Theatreon a
In 1972,Divadlo Husa na provizku-or rather,
rename
a home,government
had
been
forced
to
itself-found
as
it
subsidy,
String),
it foughtthesystemfrom
and professionalstatusin Brno'sHouse ofArt;thereafter,
Givenonlya bare exhibitionhall withwhichto work,thecompanybegan a
within.24
series of experimentsin irregularspatial arrangementsthat included not only
the space to suit each production,but experimenting
with irregular
reconfiguring
In
with
the
audience.
a
Provizek
the
audience
area also
relationships
production,
in
various
the
Actors
address
serves as performance
audience
ways.
space
directly,
take part in the
and spectatorsare sometimescalled upon to createsound effects,
withspatialrelationships
and
action,or offeropinionsand suggestions.Experiments
in
as
interaction
served
not
the
distinctions
explorations breakingdown,
spectator
between performer
and spectatoras personsplayingdiffering
roles but, rather,the
distancethatkeeps thetwo frombeingperceivedas partofa singlecommunity.
Provizek also conductedexplorations
outsidethelimitedspace oftheHouse ofArt.
While remainingunder the aegis of the municipalart hall, the companymoved to
alternative,irregularperformance
spaces in Brnoeleven timesin twentyyears.For
each move itdevelopedstudies,plans,and projectsforthenew space. In one instance
it relocated to an abandoned bakery,in another,to a formerfishmarket.These
dislocationsand relocationsextendedProvazek'sattemptto returnto theessentialsof
theatrethroughirregularmeans.The unconventional
of the spaces and
arrangement
the associations inherentto them pushed the group to explore each location's
possibilitiesforaestheticand politicalstatements.Like the theatresof Kantorand
Grotowskiin Poland,Provizek could traveleasilyand performalmostanywhere.
Na provizku
Seeking to diversifyand deregularizetheiractivitieseven further,
began the firstof a long line of tours and collaborativeinternationalfestivaland
22On the other hand, Havel's essay also discusses the difficultyindividuals face in resistingthe
temptationto "surrendertheirhuman identityin favorof the identityof the system,. . so thatthey
may be pulled into and ensnared by it, like Faust with Mephistopheles" ("The Power of the
which retellsthe Faust legend in a modern Czech context,
Powerless," 52). Havel's play, Temptation,
may be considered his artisticexpressionof the same idea.
23 Milan
Simerka,in CivicFreedomin CentralEurope,110.
24 Shortly after
Husik became First Secretaryin 1969, it was suggested that Divadlo Husa na
provazku remove the husa (goose) fromits name. No furtherexplanation was given, but one was
hardly needed; the Czech word fora gander is husak.
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428 / DennisC. Beck
theatreprojects.International
also
recognitionconstitutesa weapon of irregularity
used by Kantorand Grotowski.Sovietbloc governments
wereloathto tightlyrestrict
groupsor individualswhose actionswerecloselywatchedfrombeyondthecountry's
In 1975 Provizek also made its firstvisit to Prague; the companywas
borders.25
and returnedroughlyonce a year thereafter.
receivedenthusiastically
Most importhe
attended
the
that
same
World
Theatre
Festival
of
tantly,
year company
Experimenand popularlysuccessfulthat
tal Theatresin Nancy,France,whereitwas so critically
invitationsfor visits fromaround the world.
it subsequentlyreceivedthirty-five
allowed it to acceptonlya fewof theseinvitations,
AlthoughtheCzech government
Provazekhad begun to develop a usefulinternational
reputation.By 1989,Provizek
had completedalmosta score of international
tours;today it is the most-travelled
dramatictheatrein Czech history.
to resistthe
Meanwhile,Provizek continuedto develop strategiesof irregularity
Each theatrewas requiredto submita proposed
demandsoftheauthorities.
structural
season ofworks,a "dramaturgic
plan," to a culturalcommitteeforapproval.For the
entailed
this
autorsk4divadla,
supplying for each work a title,description,and
a
list of materialsfromwhich it would probablybe
well
as
as
performancedates,
of
those
the
names
and
personswho would workon theproject.Provizek's
composed
realmmightbe thoughtof as an exercisein
in
this
extra-dramaturgical
irregularity
conceived
of a strategy-onefurther
Srba
Derridiansupplementarity.
developed by
his hand-pickedsuccessor,Petr Oslzly--thatOslzly called "the tacticof the small
white dogs."26 The tactic,whose name derives fromGoethe's Faust,consisted of
includingin a list of proposed works,all of which the dramaturgknows to be
blatantprovocation.The
as to constitute
unacceptable,a play or playsso controversial
watchdogsof cultureeagerlyhuntedthe yappingwhite dog runningahead of the
pack, killed it,and thenrelaxed,contentthattheyhad purgedthe season of rabid
of thistacticwas enhancedby partypressureon the
subversion.The effectiveness
theircriticalrigor.Even in a groupofthemostinnocuous
committeesto demonstrate
worksimaginable,somethinghad to be forbiddento ensurethatCzechoslovakiawas
being made safe forsocialism.Provaizeksimplyprovidedthe sacrifice.Oslzly also
worksprovocativetitlesand labeledprovocative
foundthatifhe gave uncontroversial
worksas neutrallyas possible,he could getapprovalfora greaterpercentageofworks
thatspoke to thecontemporary
situation;he called thistactic"thestrategyofthefalse
whitedogs."
Sometimeseven one word in a titlecould play therole of whitedog. In 1977,the
a proposedproject
censors-ever sensitiveto thebuzzwordsof formalism-rejected
based, as the titleindicated,on TheNonsensePoetryofEdwardLear(Poezienesmyslu
EdwardaLeara).The censorsobjectedto theword"nonsense"in thetitle,and theykept
on objectingforsix consecutiveseasons. Finally,in 1983,Oslzly changedthe titleto
Storiesof theLong Nose (Pfib~hydlouhihonosu). The text,of course,remainedunHiibner,Theatreand Politics,36-37.
This and the followingthreequotationsare frommy interviewwithOslzly. Srba chose Oslzly, his
dramaturgystudentat Masaryk University,to take his place as Provizek's dramaturgin the early
1970s,when Srba was forbiddenby the regimeto teach or practicetheatre.Srba relocatedto Prague,
where he was allowed a job in the Instituteof Historyand eventuallybecame a theatrehistorian,as
one of the country'sbest theatretheoreticians.
well as, accordingto
Oslzly,,
25
26
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DIVADLO NA PROVAZKUAND CZECH COMMUNITY /
429
word"nonsense"in thetitle,thecensorsfoundthe
touched,butwithouttheoffending
the productionhas remained
to
sensible
enough stage (see cover illustration);
piece
in
Provizek's
ever
since.
continuously
repertory
In 1977,Oslzly took the theoryof excess to an extremeby submittinga season
titleshe proposed,he expected
composed entirelyofwhitedogs. Of thetwenty-eight
six or seven to be approved-enough for the followingseason's addition to the
of twentyor so works.Instead,he was grantedpermissionforonlytwo.A
repertory
withwhomhe was allowed to plead his case,
bit shaken,he wentto thecivicofficer
with whom he adopted an attitudethat was ofteneffectivein dealing with the
authorities-making"stupidmenofourselves."Playingthegood soldierSchweik,he
proclaimed,
Itis impossible
orI amtotally
Orweall,allourtheatre
is poisoned.
Notonlywe,
poisoned.
but also our audienceis poisoned.We are crowdedwiththeaudience.Not onlywe
creators-wecould be poisonedby someWesternthinking-butit'snotpossiblethatthese
youngpeople in theaudience,thestudentsare poisoned.You cannotbelieve this.Ifyou
believe this,you mustsay all societyhereis poisoned.Butit couldn'tbe.
Arguingin thisway put the censorsonce again in a double-bind.Althoughthey
sensed thatsocietywas "poisoned" and mostpeople opposed them,theycould not
totalitarian
rule.Oslzly was able to wrest
verywell acknowledgean unrepresented,
to revealtheactual
permissionto producea fullseason by challengingtheauthorities
division between nation and state,communityand collective.Provaizekused its
as a leverwhose effectiveness
derivedfrom
positionas spokesmanforthecommunity
theauthorities'unwillingnessto openlyacknowledgea nationfromwhichtheywere
excluded.One ofthecompany'sprimarygoals,to represent
and servetheinterests
of
the community,became with time one of its primaryweapons against external
regulation.
itsstrategies,
however,itwas forcedtodevelopnew
Justas Provizekwas perfecting
ones. In January1977,a documententitledCharter77 was released to the Western
press and Czech authorities.Draftedin largepartby Vaclav Havel and philosopher
JanPatocika,itcalled on theCzech leadershipto honorin itsown countrytheUN civil
and humanrightscovenantsas well as theHelsinkiFinalAct it had recentlysigned.
The Charternotonlyconstituted
a seriouschallengeto theregime,italso revealedto
theworldan undergroundoforganized,uncontrolled
activityin Czechoslovakia.The
communistgovernment
reacteddecisivelywitha re-restoration
oforderin theformof
a programof public vilification
of Charteristsin the media, arrests,and increased
surveillancein all areas of life,particularly
thearts.
A new TheatreLaw was enactedon 1 January1978thatmade it illegal to open a
theatreor close down an existingone.27In addition,all theatresnot currently
under
directstatecontrolwere made subservientarms of larger,statetheatres.Divadlo na
prov~izkuwas removedfromthemunicipalcontrolofBrno'sHouse ofArtand made
thesixtharmoftheStateTheatrein Brno."As a thirdmeasureofcontrol,theatresnot
alreadyled by a memberof the communistpartywere given new artisticdirectors.
See BarbaraDay,Ed. Introd.toCzechPlays(London:NickHern,1994),xii.
HaDivadlo(Bmo'sotherauthorial
thefifth;
constituted
theotherfourpartsconsistedof
theatre)
and "regular"dramatictheatre.
Ballet,Opera,Operetta,
27
28
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430 / DennisC. Beck
JaroslavTuiik, a partymemberwho knew littleabout the theatrebut had always
wanted to learn, was assigned to the company in this role in order,explains
"to breakus fromthisirregularpositionto the regular
in his interview,
Scherhaufer
cutthecompany'soperatingbudgetin
a
After
tortuous
yearin whichTudcik
position."
in
an
the
half,
unexpecteddirection.As Tuc'ik'sdaily work
breakingbegan-but
the
with
him
company'smethodsand intentions,his views began to
acquainted
in which they could be honestlyexpressed.By the
a
forum
find
to
change-or
himtoourside,"and created"ourPygmalion."
"reworked
had
Provaizek
year
following
butunderthegreatersafetyof
its
thecompanyresumed irregular
activities,
Thereafter,
controland
umbrella.Moreover,tightenedgovernment
administered
Tu'ik's officially
"radicalizedus morethan
theemergenceof a visibleopposition,recallsScherhaufer,
before." After1978, Provizek concentratedon collaborativeactivitywithin the
theatrecontacts.
oppositionmovementand increasednationaland international
Prova'zekfocused its effortsin three main areas of theatricalactivity.Within
Czechoslovakia,Provizekand otheralternativetheatresbegan to meetat an annual
festivalof professionaltheatresheld alternatelyin the towns of Cesky Budejovice
and carefullyarrangeddiscussions
(Bohemia) and Preov (Slovakia). Performances
a
loose associationof oppositional
of
for
the
formation
provided an opportunity
the1980s.
influential
become
would
theatresthat
throughout
increasingly
professional
theatres.
amateur
the
with
itsties
Provaizekalso strengthened
country's
In addition Provaizekbegan projectsit called Theatrein Movement(Divadlo v
of what would later become the Center for
Pohybu),the incipientmanifestation
an
Theatre,
organizationbegun in collaborationwithHaDivadlo. AcExperimental
Centerseeks to be
the
to
its
declaration,
cording
in
forresearch
ofeverykindofartandalternative
forprojects
an umbrella
culture,
projects
and social
in thefieldofphilosophy,
thefieldofourculturaltraditions,
anthropology,
It will seek fortheir
and foreducational
projectsin therelatedhumanities.
history,
andinterrelationships.29
connections
of a CentralThe Centertakesas itsstartingpoint,thesearch,studyand restoration
and the
cultural
of
a
It
seeks
cultural
continuity
resumption
identity.30
European
order,"as well as thecreationofan atmosphereofcultural
"renewalofan interrupted
artsmanagement,
tolerance.Itscreationsand actionsfallintotheareas ofproductions,
and researchofexperidocumentation
an alternativetheatreschool,amateurtheatre,
mentaltheatreand CentralEuropeanculture,and creationof open space forartistic
and culturalactivities.Its declarationinvitesand encouragesgroupsfromaroundthe
world to join theCenterin itswork.
Finally,Provizek shiftedfrommerelytouringto activelycollaboratingacross
nationalborders.In 1978 the companytravelledto Wroclaw,Poland, as one of the
Divadla, 1993),5.
Divadlo v Pohybu(IV) - Brno93 (Brno:CentrumExperimentailniho
The recentethnicfightingof Bosnians and Serbs,among otherfactors,makes "Central-European
can perhaps
cultural identity"a problematicconcept.The impulse behind its formation/restoration
best be understoodby consideringthatCentralEurope has been the battlezone and bargainingchip
between powers in the East and West for900 years. Predominantly,its lack of cohesion is said to
account foritspoliticalweakness. As a conscious movement,thequest fora Central-Europeancultural
identitydates fromthe nineteenthcentury.
29
30
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DIVADLO NA PROVAZKUAND CZECH COMMUNITY /
431
in
collaborativestreetaction,called Hope,performed
creatorsofthefirstinternational
Festival
Fools.
The
of
the
of
under
the
company'sparticipation
auspices
Copenhagen
oforder,
almostended beforeithad begun,however.As partofits1977re-restoration
Provizek
to
west
of
the
Iron
Curtain.
In
the governmentforbade
perform
response,
and hid thethirtyrenamedthepiece a "work-in-progress"
Danish festivalauthorities
in the "workshop"portionof the festivalprogram.Thus able to
two performances
Provizek was able to make the firstof three
documentthatit wasn't "performing,"
Provizekbegan
visitsto theFestivalofFools.Also as a resultoftheHopecollaboration,
anothercollaborativeprojectwithcompaniesfromWales,Denmark,Poland,Czechoslovakia,Hungary,and Sweden thatculminatedat the 1983Festivalof Fools witha
svetaa rdjsrdce),
ofLabyrinth
oftheWorldandParadiseoftheHeart(Labyrint
performance
based on a workby Comenius(see fig.1).
Provizek'spositionin relationto theCzech
While all theseactivitiesstrengthened
authoritiesand allowed it to extendthebordersofthepermissibleforitselfand other
intimaterelationshipwith
theatregroupsin therepublic,thecompany'sincreasingly
much
its
After
Charter77,theleaders
that
of
Czech dissidentsgave
meaning.
position
a
of Provdizek
began to meetsecretlyonce monthwithHavel and otherdissidents.31
but generallyrecognizedleadersof the dissidents
Havel and Provaizek,as unofficial
and theoppositionaltheatres,
begantoharmonizegoalsand practices.As
respectively,
a result,irregulardramaturgybecame, in a sense, one of the most visible and
widespreadof thedissidents'weapons in thewar againsttotalitarianism.
The meetingscontinueduntilshortlybeforetherevolutionand werecomplemented
and Oslzlybeganproducingnew playsby
byanotherformofassociation.Scherhaufer
banned Czech authors,declaringthemselvesthejointauthorsof record.Provizek's
irregulardramaturgyfurthershielded the playwrightsby "dematerializing"their
worksin progress,therewas
texts-since theplays were "developed"as fragmentary
never at any time a "script"completeenough to hand to the censors. Provizek
produceda numberofplaysusingthismethod,includingfourbybannedplaywright
Milan Uhde (who laterled theCzech parliamentuntilJune1996).And thecompany
was performingHavel's latest play on 17 November 1989, the evening that the
"Velvet"Revolutioncame to life.
Cries of Freedom, Steps Toward Democracy
Provazekand HaDivadlo had travelledto Praguein mid-November
to performan
"On
entitled
of
their
created
"issue,"
Democracy,"
livingmagazine,Rozrazil
jointly
The
Brno
had
the
(Breakthrough).
companies
begunbringing news-and-issue-oriented
with
to
the
national
because Brnoreceived
capital
increasingfrequency
performances
Viennese televisiontransmissionsand was therefore
aware of events outside the
EasternBloc,whereasthecitizensofPraguelivedin whatScherhaufer
describesas an
"information
otherthan thatwhich
ghetto,"havingno directaccess to information
had been sanctionedby the communistgovernment.32
As part of theirmagazine,
Provizek performeda short, semi-documentaryplay, nominally authored by
31 They rendezvoused in the Gothic Black Tower of Vy'ehrad-the site of Prague's original castle;
here,at least, Oslzly notes in his interview,no bugging devices were likelyto be placed.
interview.Voice of America was sometimesreceivable in Prague at 5:00 and 10:00
32 Scherhaufer,
P.M.,but the Communistgovernmentscrambledthe transmissionwhenever possible.
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432
/
DennisC. Beck
......
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-----------------------------------------------------.....
..............
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.......
...........
.........
.....
.......
.......
........
...........
... .... ....
.......
..........
.. .. ......
.. ..
. ............ .....
.......
....
. ...........
.
......
.....
........ . ......
........ ..
....
... ......
.......
......
: . ... ......
.......
.. ....
..... . ..........
..........
.....
....
....
. .....
.........ii~~'
:iiiii:::
. ...... ....
~i........
.~,
...
....
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...
in the1985Divadlona provhzku
Figure1. ThePilgrim(PetrOslzly,inforeground)
at theBrnoHouse ofArtofLabyrinth
andParadise
oftheWorld
oftheHeart,
restaging
basedon a workbyComenius.Photo:Pavel?toll.
We WillRun (Zftrato spustfine),
dramatizedthe
Scherhauferand Oslzly. Tomorrow
activitiesof Czech insurgentsthat led to the foundingof the FirstCzechoslovak
Republicin 1918,The piece was blatantlynationalistic-inthecommunal,as opposed
sense-and uncannilypredictedevents as they would unfold
to state-collective,
Revolution.Its realauthor,thewriterwho would help foundand
the
"Velvet"
during
become presidentof the second autonomousCzechoslovak Republic,took as his
subject the writerand statesmanAlois Rasin, who had helped found the first
autonomousCzechoslovakRepublic,also byworkingfromwithintheoccupiedlands.
On 17 November,soon aftertheWhiteHelmetsoftheCzech government
policeand
on
a
their
attack
theRed Beretsofan anti-terrorist
military
regiment
began
procession
of students requestingaccess to Wenceslas Square fromNational Boulevard, a
bloodied drama studentburst into the theatreclub on Chmelnicistreetand ran
backstage to reportthe event to the visitingcompanies of his hometown'stwo
alternativetheatres.Oslzl} thennotifiedtheaudience thatthenextarticlein Rozrazil
would be an interviewwith a studentwho had been attackedby police (one of
thathe had helpedfound).Followingthestory,
Oslzlf's pupilsin thesecretuniversity
and HaDivadlo stopped theirperformance,
which shocked the audience,Provwizek
a
in
of
such
national
the
face
that
drama, the theatre'sdrama had no
declaring
meaning.
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DIVADLO NA PROVAZKUAND CZECH COMMUNITY /
433
The nextday,shortlyfollowingthedeclarationofa studentgeneralstrike,leaders
oftheoppositiontheatresin
fromCzechoslovakia'stheatresgatheredat theinvitation
theRealisticTheatre(today'sLabyrinththeatre)to discussthesituationand themost
effective
theauthorities
response.Whentheatreleadersunaccustomedto confronting
began to worryfortheirsafetyand waver in theirconvictionthata generaltheatre
strikewould be the best course of action,Oslzly and ArnoitGoldflam,HaDivadlo
directorand writer,declaredthatalthoughtheyhad a performance
beginningin ten
minutes,theywere resoluteand would not play: "If you decide therewill be no
withus and with
generalstrike,we willbe alone and veryweak. Ifyou have solidarity
othersof us who will do thesame,we mustdo it all together."
Promptedby theatre
had sharpenedtheirsensitivity
to theneeds ofthemoment,
artistswhose dramaturgy
theassemblydeclaredthegeneralstrike,an actionOslzlysees as a hiddenbutdefining
momentin thevulnerable,firstdays of therevolution.33
In thefollowingweeks thenation'sstagesbecamecivicforumsas membersofthe
parallelpolis used thetheatresto vocalize openlyideas theyhad been developingfor
overa decade. Divadlo na provaizku
becamethecenterofrevolutionary
activityforthe
and thoseof othertheatresoutsidePragueproved
South Moravianregion.Its efforts
particularlyimportantin spreadingtheideas and hopes animatingthe revolutionto
thesmall townsand industrialareas whereno collegesor universities
existedto help
Throughoutmostofthenation,thesmall groupsofperformers
provideinformation.
sent by the theatresinto the countrysideensured that the revolutionwould be
media.
representedin a perspectiveotherthanthatprovidedby thestate-controlled
Aftertwentyyears of indirectengagement,the forcesof the Czechoslovak social
those of the statecollectivedirectly,
and the theatres
communityfinallyconfronted
and
and
embodied
communal
ideals,
values,customs,
openly
aggressivelyexpressed
and ethics.All thenation'stheatres,
forthefirsttime,adoptedovertlytherolethathad
been played covertlyby theautorskd
divadlafortwo decades.
Not onlyhad thetheatresbecome a cohesivecommunity.
Withtherevolution,the
trueextentoftheircommunity
ofspectatorsrevealeditself.Enormouspublicdemonstrationswere directed-as much as theycould be-by authorialtheatreartists.In
opening theirstages,theatresacross the countryexercisedthe essence of irregular
dramaturgy-to representand express communal views, and to resist external,
authoritarian
regulation.And thistime,thecommunity
theyhelped awaken did not
compromisewith the representativesof collectivegovernment.Communitytriumphed,and theatrepeople were swept up in thetriumph.Chantsof "long live the
actors"greetedthem,and theywerecelebratedas prophetsofa bettertomorrow.
The
however,forit seemed theculminationof all
triumphcast a shadow intothefuture,
theautorskd
divadlahad laboredfor.The theatresexperiencedwhat,to borrowHavel's
analogy,Sisyphus mighthave feltif suddenly his boulder came to rest atop the
mountain.34
Post-PartumDepressions
Havel was electedpresidenton 29 December1989.35
The communistpartyretained
controlof the militaryand many otherstate institutions,
however,until general
The precedingaccount of events inside the theatresis drawn frommy interviewwith Oslzly.
VAclavHavel, "The Velvet Hangover," Harper'sMagazine,October 1990, 18-21.
35 Havel summoned Oslzly to act as his advisor on culturalaffairs.
33
34
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434
/ DennisC. Beck
electionsin June1990.Duringthesesix tensemonths,theatresacrossCzechoslovakia
most popularlythose of the
produced plays by previouslyforbiddenplaywrights,
new president.Thoughthedramaoutsiderivaledthaton stage,worksbyMilanUhde,
Pavel Kohout,Ivan Klima,and otherpreviouslyforbiddenplaywrights
keptCzechoto
slovak audiencescomingto thetheatres,
see
what
had
been
denied for
eager
they
twentyyears,
Afterthe Juneelections,however,the tensionin the air and the mystiqueof the
theatres'oppositionalpositionbothdissipated.Theatreaudiencesalreadyhad fallen
As nearlyanyCzech theatre
afterJune,thedropbecameprecipitous.
offsinceJanuary;
the
theatres
overtookany theatriof
life
outside
will
the
explain, theatricality
person
theatres
could
manufacture.
The
could
not
the
competewitha freepress,
cality stage
a fledglingdemocraticgovernment,and daily, unexpecteddevelopmentsin the
politicaland social realms.They had become a diversion,a warm-upact forgotten
once the main attractionbegins.Theatrepractitioners
quicklyrealized thattheatre
had
substituted
withinthetotalitarian
before1990,and especiallytheautorskti
divadla,
venues in a democraticsociety.
collectivefor activitiesfulfilledthroughdifferent
to be theatre.
Theatrewas freeagain, as Czech theatreartistsrecountthetransition,
What thatmeantin a countrywhose theatricaltraditionshad been closely tied to
aspirationsof nationalautonomyand thestrugglefordemocracyforover 150 years,
however,was anybody'sguess as thedecade began.
Manyhoped thatthenew conditionsoffreedomwould fostera culturalspringlike
thatof1968.The parallelwas, however,sadlyinexact.Not onlydid eventsin 1989give
theatrecreatorslittletimeto considertheirnew reasonsforexistenceor the human
purposestheycould serve,butas ideologicalpressuresslackened,economicpressures
took hold. Ironically,theatresfound themselvesforcedto grapple with material
problemsthey had never needed to confrontunder the mandates of dialectical
PrimeMinisterVAiclav
materialism.
Klaus,forexample,had no doubtsaboutculture's
role in the new situation.In a now infamousmetaphor,he observedthatwhen the
Fixed fundsthat
apartmentneeds cleaning,thebooks mustgo out on thebalcony.36
of
Culture
the
had
channeled
been
directlyto individual
through Ministry
previously
of
Finance
the
now
shuttled
theatresare
(which Klaus controls).
through Ministry
a
sum
earmarkedforculture,
receive
lump
Regional and municipalgovernments
situation
fortheatres,
with
fit.
What
was
once
a
stable
whichtheydivide as theysee
in
a
to
competition,
dependablesubsidiesfromyear year,has become nerve-wracking
its
can
threaten
theatre
which a city'sneeds formuseumreconstruction
companies
with extinction.Extremestories,however,are relativelyrare.A few municipalities
have evictedresidentcompaniesfromtheirpriorhomesunderthebeliefthatreducing
staffand rentingfacilitiesto visitingcompanieswill generatemoreincome,but other
citieshave increasedtheatreand culturalfundingin an attemptto attractnationaland
internationalcommercialinvestment.The numberof professionaltheatresin the
stableat about seventy-five.
Czech Republicnow remainsrelatively
This does not mean,however,thatfinancialworriesare a thingof the past. State
theatreallocationshave been held at 1989-90levels,causing an approximately5036
VAiclavKlaus, as quoted by Scherhaufer,interview.Other theatrepractitionersoftencite Klaus's
metaphor.
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DIVADLO NA PROVAZKUAND CZECH COMMUNITY /
435
ofCultureended subsidiesto threeof
percentdropin realterms.In 1994,theMinistry
thefourtheatrevenues it stillsupported,retainingonlytheNationalTheatre.Of the
other three,the Laterna Magika now relies on the touristtrade,the State Opera
strugglesto findpublic and privatesponsors,and theTheatreBeyondthe Gate-to
in honorofthe
whichthepost-revolution
declareda moralresponsibility
government
of
endured
founder
Otomar
by
Krej'a-has folded.Further,
twentyyears prohibition
althoughthe Ministrynow awards small grantsforindividualartsprojects,it bars
companies-thebackboneofCzech theatre-fromapplyongoingensemblerepertory
ing forsuch support.To make mattersworse,while ministry
policieshave increased
independent,parliamenthas failed
pressureon theatresto become morefinancially
eitherto pass legislationthatwould encourageprivatedonationsto culturalinstitustatus.
tions,or to granttheatresnot-for-profit
Once divided aroundtheissue ofwhatitmeansfortheatreto be theatrepolitically,
the Czech theatrecommunityis now splitintotwo camps by opposingconceptions
not only of the best way to grapple with difficult
financialdilemmas,but, more
of
for
to
what
it
means
theatre
be
theatre.
On one side standstheidea
broadly,
simply
of theatreas a livingorganismcomposed of individualswho workas an ensemble,
usuallyunderstrongleadership,witha continually
evolvingmethod,aestheticvision,
to theinnerneeds ofCzech society.Provizek,naturally,
and sensitivity
subscribesto
thisposition,whichalso represents-broadly
and
speaking-the traditionalstructure
functionof Czech theatre.On the otherside stands the conceptionof theatreas a
constructedsystemresponsiveto externaldemandsand the materialrealitiesof the
forthe "new"
market,popular taste,and fashion-whichusuallymeansa sensitivity
as it evolves in mass culture.Of course,thestrictseparationof thesetwo camps is a
discursiveconceit;muchofthehardshipand theongoingtransitional
characterofthe
currentCzech theatrestems fromthe difficulty
the majorityof theatreshave in
necessarilystandingwitha footin each camp. The separationdoes, however,clarify,
two prevailingtendencies.
Commercialtheatresthathave arisenor adapted theirprogramsto caterto tourist
tradeconstitutethemostblatantexpressionofthesecond tendency.
Theyare marked
their
which
ticket
exceed
those
of
other
most
theatres
by
byeighttimesor more.
prices,
TheatresproducingWesternhitsand musicalsfallintothiscategory,
ofcourse.But so
do the Black Lighttheatres,whichhave adopted LaternaMagika's language of the
stage to visuallyrelatestoriesof old Prague,theGolem,Alice in Wonderland,etc.To
an increasingdegree,LaternaMagika itselfhas joined this group. The indigenous
Czech puppet theatrealso has adapted to commericalpressures.
Over the past six years, these theatreshave refinedtheir ability to produce
Broadway or touristfare,but many of the productionsseem to be motivatedby
nothing other than commercialinterests.Moreover,commercialexigencies have
structuredsuch enterprisesaccordingto the capital-intensive,
Westernproduction
model, in which artistictalentis jobbed in as each particularshow demands. The
take precedence over the developmentof ideas,
product and its marketability
aesthetics,or relationshipsover time.Responsiveabove all to the momentand its
readily apparentneeds, these theatresprovide no forumfor reflectionor for the
and
developmentof theartistictalentand visionenabledby experiment,
continuity,
dialogue. For manytheatrepeople,thechoiceto avoid thisWesternmodel hingeson
a questionofvalues.
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436 / DennisC. Beck
A relatedpressureto attendprimarilyto the materialexigenciesof the moment,
however,also has affectedtheworkoftheensemblerepertory
companies.After1990,
a new sense of anxietyspread throughthese theatresas theircontinuedexistence
of
became uncertainand directors
began to shufflefromtheatreto theatre.The flurry
the
form
of
and
now
takes
has
continued
Manypeople
multipleemployment.
activity
worknow in twoor threetheatresand takeadditionaljobs in othervenues.As a result,
the thoughtand care necessaryto develop work thatmakes an impactis in short
supply,and an intangiblequalityof depthor relevanceis oftenmissing.
has diversifiedCzech
of theatre'spurposein thenew environment
Interpretations
in securingfunding,
theatreas stronglyas have financialpressures.Despitedifficulty
a group of new, small theatresrun by young artistshas grown up, attractinga
youthfulaudience-that is, spectatorswho came ofage shortlybefore
predominantly
or aftertherevolution.Unlikethesociallyorientedtraditionoftheiroldercolleagues,
on personalissues.Generation-specific
concentrates
theworkoftheseyoungdirectors
an
unforeseen
mark
in
fact,
venues,
by-productof freedom.They reflect,most
and
perhaps unbridgeablehistoricalexperiencesbetween a
divergent
significantly,
rulewas an ambiguouschildhoodconditionquickly
totalitarian
to
which
generation
and
the
older
the
into
generationsforwhichit was a lived experience
past
receding
influence
to
thatcontinues
perceptionsand possibilitiesin the present.These older
theatres.
Theyproduceworkthatis now free
generationsstillstaffthelargerrepertory
the "prisonof formerideas,
within
still
of mandatedpoliticalagendas,but
trapped
situation
and social
ideas thatwerevalid fortheenvironment
then,notnow."37
a fewyoungdirectorshave drawn thegreatest
In thesmallersubsidized theatres,
Theatreand PetrKracikat the
amountof attention.Marie Buresovaiat theLabyrinth
TheatreUnderthePalm have producedclassicand periodworkswithfreshperspectives.PetrLebl, theleadingdirectorand artistichead ofTheatreon theBalustradewhere Havel and directorJan Grossmanworked in the 1960s-has garneredthe
He employsa satiricand highlyimaginative,
imagistic,
postmodern
recognition.
greatest
audiences and divided opinionsalong a deeper divide
attracted
that
has
approach
thanthemerelycommercial.One side sees in Lebl's highlyvisual stylean embraceof
the primacyof aestheticsand a rejectionof social commentary,
which,theyargue,
befitstheatrein a democraticenvironment.
Opposing thisview stands a group of
theatreartistsand spectatorswho continueto believe thattheatrehas a significant
social,even spiritualroleto play.Divadlo Husa na provazkucontinuestobe one ofthe
leadersof thisgroup.38
Communityof Absence/Absence of Community
The sense of communityand mutual understandingthathad characterizedthe
experiencein thetheatreand societyquicklydissipatedafter
previoustwenty-years'
the electionsof June1990 as nation conflatedwith state and communitylost the
externalpressurethathad keptit unified.PresidentHavel seemed to be addressing
37 Helena Albertova,formerdirectorof the Czech Theatre Institute,interviewby author,Prague,
Czech Republic, 18 July1995.
to stuffthe
38One of the company's firstactions afterthe outbreakof the "Velvet" Revolutionwas
goose back into its name.
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DIVADLO NA PROVAZKUAND CZECH COMMUNITY /
437
Czech societyas much as the Westernreluctanceto assist EasternEurope when he
wrote in ForeignAffairs:"[T]he world used to be so simple: therewas a single
adversarywho was more or less understandable,who was directedfroma single
center,and whose sole aim in itsfinalyears... was to maintainthestatusquo.... All
thathas vanished.The world has suddenlybecome unusuallycomplexand farless
intelligible."39
The disappearanceofthisclearlyvisibleadversaryhas resultedin thedissolutionof
sinceno apparentstrugglethreatens
to crushit.PeterScherhaufer
theold community,
that
and
conflict
remain
what has changed
believes,however,
struggle
ever-present;
so apparent.Czech community
are theexternalconditionsthatoncemade community
to see or
has not ceased to exist,Scherhaufer
suggests;rather,it has becomedifficult
could proveitsundoing,however,
sense in thecurrentsituation.Thatveryinvisibility
as individualslose sightofsharedvalues. Divadlo Husa na provazkuand a fewother
studio theatrescontinueto searchout the strugglesand the communallinks that
to makecommunity
surroundthem,in an effort
visibleagain. Theirsearchcombines
theirpre-revolution
goal of saving the nationwith the post-revolution
necessityof
maintainingtheiraudiences.40
divadlaundertookthesearchforsuch communallinkswhen in 1990it
The autorsWkd
became clear thattheyhad been broken.ProvAzek'sstrongpre-revolution
position
and threatsto individual
enabled it to maintainits traditionalfocuson difficulties
itspracticeon theborder
values,and in thisway to transform
rightsand community
ofsearchingoutthebordersofthesocially
ofthepoliticallypermissibleintoa strategy
denied,and taboo.
problematic,
The companyconcededtheeffective
loss ofitspoliticaland informational
roles,but
has not forsakenthespiritual.The churchesin theCzech Republiccannotfulfillthe
havingrehearsedtheirrole
spiritualneeds ofCzechs today,arguesPetrOslzly;rather,
as islandsofrelativespiritualfreedom,theatresarepoised to addressthenonmaterial
needs oftheCzech people. Provizek,therefore,
has focusseditsattentionon issues of
the
and
Like
feels
thattheseare theareas ofsociety
Havel,
company
morality identity.
and theindividualpsychethathavebeenmostdamagedbydecades ofpressureto live
believes,
externally
accordingto conscience-denying,
imposedmandates.Scherhaufer
have
that
and
sufferedin similarways in the recent
moreover,
identity
morality
In his interview,
he tellsthestoryofthehead physicianof a
capitalisticenvironment.
Czech hospitalwho, financially
motivated,regularlyneglectshis Czech patientsfora
week to go to Vienna"to clean theass of one old person."Scherhaufer
asks himself
how he is to teachhisstudentswhenrolemodelssetsuchexamples,thensuggeststhat
audiences,too,need alternativemodels and lessons.
3 Vaclav Havel, "A Call for Sacrifice:The Co-responsibilityof the West," ForeignAffairs73.2
(1994): 2.
40 As attendance at many other theatresdropped to as low as 10 percentat some performances,
Provizek stillretained83 percentof capacityin itsworstseason (1990-91). These percentagesdo need
to be relativized,however: at performancespriorto 1990,Provizek had been turningaway a hundred
or more people at thedoor. The theatrehas neverofferedsubscriptions,promptedby thedesire to play
each timeforan audience compelled to visitthetheatrebecause itneeds to experience,at thatmoment,
what only the theatrecan offer.
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438 / DennisC. Beck
Shortlyafterthe revolution,as if expoundingon Havel's writing,Scherhaufer
stageda productionofFaustthatexploredtheextentoftheCzech people's collaboraof the precedingtwentyto fortyyears,and hence the
tion with the totalitarianism
extentof theirshared culpability.He followedthis productionwith one entitled
at thecore of whichwas a stagingof Hamletusing
III (ManStorm),
Shakespearomanie
but justifiableperwere replayedfromdiffering
Scenes
translations.
different
eight
The
Hamlet.
and
six
and
actors-male
productionsugfemale-played
spectives,
in myriad
can be interpreted
"faithfully"
gestedthatthesame experience/history/text
into
a
single interpretive
interpretations
ways, and that combiningsuch differing
event necessitatesdisjunctionsand discontinuities.Scherhaufertried therebyto
as he put itin his interview,
problemsofindividualand communalidentity;
highlight
theproductionasked thequestionof "how to be or notto be in thissituation."
In 1993, in conjunctionwith Denmark's Den Bla Hest and Poland's Teatr 77,
to Delphi,whichconsistedof an
Provaizekundertooka theatreactioncalled Journey
thetheatre'sfutureand society's
about
the
oracle
to
ask
to
trek
overland
actual
Delphi
at
the
were
needs. (They
Yugoslav border.) Late in 1993,
stopped by fighting
at thecompany's
de
of
the
a
directed production
Scherhaufer
Marquis Sade's Justine
novel
concernsethical
of
de
misfortunes
new theatre.41Subtitled"the
virtue," Sade's
in Czech
values
whether
to
choices; Scherhaufershaped his production question
societywere changingforthe worse under the influenceof consumerism.He also
someofHavel's wordsina way thatpointedup thedistancebetweenthe
incorporated
and politicalrealities.42
pronouncements
president's
By 1995, Helena AlbertovAand otherssensed that theatreaddressingissues of
ethicalchoiceand the problemsof individualand communalidentityhad begun to
concernan increasinglylargertheatreaudience. Czechs were growingweary of or
inuredto thesensationalismofWesternmass culture,and audienceshad returnedto
Albertovamuses,
thetheatresstrongly.
likeat
it'ssomething
life.I think
I think
thatpeoplewanttolistentowhattodo withtheir
couldwriteplayson whattodo,howto
That'swhyChekhov
theendofthelastcentury.
Thesenseof
tothemselves.
withpeople,theyputthesequestions
live.Ifyou'respeaking
we
feel
there's
but
we
have
Now
...
something
missing.43
everything
why.Why?
thismissing
ProvAzekis engaged in an ongoingsearchto rediscoverand re-present
for
its
with
is
theatre's
The
however,
search,
irony,
experience
tinged
something.
thisabsence.
alreadyrepresents
freedfroma clearlydefinedand containing
Suddenlyand somewhatunexpectedly
intotheavailable space afterthe
theatre
Czech
and
Czech
expanded
society
danger,
"Velvet"Revolution,movingaway froma centerthathad been definedin opposition
41
Provazek's new building is an impressivestructure;it incorporatesan award-winning,versatile
offices,a cellar theatre,and the town
theatrespace, an outdoor Elizabethan-styletheatre-cum-cafe,
house in which AustrianEmpress Maria Theresa (1717-80) stayed when visitingMoravia.
of Havel angered Oslzly, still functioningas his culturaladviser in
42 The production's treatment
Prague.
AlbertovAnotesthataudiences began returningto the theatresin increasing
43 Albertova,interview.
numbersat the end of 1992-interestingly,the time at which the problematicCzechoslovak identity
became a thingofthepast withthedivisionofthefederationintotwo nationson 1 January1993.In the
1994-95 season, attendancelevels finallymatchedpre-revolutionfigures.
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DIVADLO NA PROVAZKUAND CZECH COMMUNITY /
439
othersimplystopped existing,and the
to the "single adversary."The long-familiar
invertedreflection
of theselfthatit providedsuddenlyvanishedfromthemirrorof
culturaland personal definition.In the rush of possible alternativesto fillup the
reflective
vacuum,theatrecompaniesand individualslosttheirpriorsense ofidentity
and purpose. Divergencecharacterizedevery dimensionof experience,fromthe
economicand politicalto thepsychologicaland filial.The removalof thecommunist
statealso removedits polar counterpart:
theparallelpolis. The death of thebipolar
broughtabout thebirthoftheplural.Pluralismand deferredmeaningwereno longer
containedby thestate'sstructural
apparatus;thebody turnedinside-out.
Provazekhas feltthe violenceof thebody suddenlyextrovert
as stronglyas any
Czech institution.
Whereaspreviouslya dramaturgically
freedom
ofexpresprotected
sion allowed a qualified pluralityto flourishin the theatre,the pluralism now
confronted
has dissolveda "commonlanguage... and now
bytheatreand community
we musttalkand talk."Regularaudiencequestionnairesrevealedthatat everypoint
theircommunitywas "very,verydivided" (Scherhaufer,
interview).Withthe body
turnedinside-out,Provizek,whose workon themarginshad allowed it to becomea
centerofcommunaldialogue,saw itsborderpositionvanish,and withit,theefficacy
of itspoststructural,
irregularmethods.
Under structuraltotalitarianism,
Provizek had used the idea of the freeplay of
but
bounded
that
with
an increasingly
definedinterpretive
signifiers,
play
community.
That community,
of course,differedfromthe one to which Provizek would point
when discussingitsproductionswithcommunistauthorities.
In thoseconfrontations,
Provizek would gesturetoward the officially
recognizedcommunity(actuallyan
externallylinkedcollective)of devotedcitizensof a communiststate.The unmarked
to whichProvazekplayed,however,was composedofindividualsbound
community
Czech self-determination,
and cultural
togetherby similarbeliefsconcerningliberty,
and nationaltraditions.The signifiers
activelydeveloped by thecompany,therefore,
unmarked,wheretheycould
lay in therealmof thecommunallyrealbut collectively
be kept relativelysafe fromthe censor's knife,sharpened as it was to excise
determinable"pro-rightist"
markings.Now, however,diversityand diversionhave
undercutthetiesthatbound thiscommunity.
An unboundedmultiplicity
ofinterpretationsunbindsan interpretive
community.
BothProvazekand itscommunity
have suffered
undertheloss.44
Aftertwentyyears
beliefs
the
and
for
the
spentdeveloping
techniques expressingthem, post-revolution
elementin itsidentity.
companysuddenlylostarguablythemostimportant
Although
has
focused
since
on
ethical
and
moral
issues
as a way of addressingan
Provizek
44
Thecompanymembers
makea concentrated
effort
tostandclosetotheircommunity
outsideas
well as inside the theatre.In his interview,Oslzly stressed the importancethe company places on
livinga "normal" lifeso thatartistscan remainsensitiveto the issues thataffectthewhole of society.
By living as otherslive-going to pubs, ridingbuses, having children,listeningclosely to the topics
that arise-Provazek artistsimmersethemselvesin the flow of society's common life in order to be
personallyaffectedby itspredominantcurrents.Throughthe irreduciblesensitivitysuch a lifeaffords,
they speak and create frompersonal experience,yet in a way inherentlygrounded, so theirhistory
attests,in common social issues. All Czech theatreis inevitablycreated in this stream,of course,but
Provazek has set itselfthe task of expressingits currentsinstead of,as much theatredoes, expressing
a reactionto them.Its course, therefore,
has been particularlyexpressiveof communal patternsand,
thus,of the disunitiesthatattendpluralism.
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440 / DennisC. Beck
itis notyetclearwhetheritsattemptscan
invisibleor absentcommunity,
increasingly
re-createwhat the strugglewith a commonlyrecognizedenemyhelped form.In a
passage thatseems to echo Havel, Peggy Phelan remarkson the impossibilityof
whollyautonomousself-definition:
a relation
toan other-which
is tosay,itis a formof
is perceptible
onlythrough
Identity
theboundary
theother,
andclaiming
wheretheselfdiverges
from
bothresisting
declaring
Inthedeclaration
ofidentity
withtheother.
andidentification,
is always
there
andmerges
on thatotherforselfloss,thelossofnotbeingtheotherand yetremaining
dependent
seeing,self-being.45
ofpost-revolution
selfThe lostrelationto an otherand theconsequentlostpossibility
notonlyProvizek,butCzech theatrein general.Oslzlydescribesit
seeinghas affected
In
as an ongoingloss: "The theatreis in a crisis,a real crisisof its own identity."46
addition to the loss of the opposing pole of othernessin the bipolar system,the
to thepresentcrisis.
absenceofa homepole ofoppositionhas also contributed
selfdivergedfromtheotherof
The boundaryon whichthecommunallyidentified
the state apparatus formedthe unmarkedcontentand shaped the methodological
principleof Provizek's productions.That borderskirmishwas, most simply,the
democracyand pluralism.As such,it formedthecenter
struggleforthenonexistent:
and purpose around which the communitygathered.The nationassembled in the
lay
space aroundan absence.Atthecenterofeach Provizekperformance
performance
the community'slack of freedom,the absence of pluralism,the nonexistenceof
meth"summonedfreedomby differing
theatreperformances
Alternative
democracy.
ods" into a virtualpresence,a communaldream sustainedby the community's
"commonprayersfora freelife" (28). Today,however,thisfreedomis marked,all
pervasive,externalto the communityand not createdactivelyby it. It formsthe
atmospheresurroundingeveryCzech. The absencethatgave thealternativetheatres
has dissipatedin thisatmosphere.
itsdefinition
theirpurposeand thecommunity
Sustainedby an audience thatafterseven yearshas begun to sense "thatthereis
somethingmissing,"Provdizekhas refinedits searchfortoday's unmetcommunal
need(s), the absence around which communitycan again be conjuredinto being.
role.Oslzly arguesthat
a metaphysical
on performing
Todaythetheatreconcentrates
such a role formsthe primalbasis of theatre.Theatreexpressiveof its own deepest
purpose, he believes, createsa "holy circle" that encompassesthe audience and
a linkbetweenthecommunity
who serveas priests,as itwere,facilitating
performers,
he admits,"therewas no
and a "metaphysicalhorizon"(27-28).Aftertherevolution,
commonmetaphysicalprincipleto whichartistsand communitycould return"(28).
Provaizeknow worksto createtheconditionsin whichsucha returnmightbe possible.
of what Oslzlf calls the clay idol of Marxist
Seven years followingthe destruction
dustremainsin theeyes ofCzechs,obscuringtheirvision
itsmaterialist
materialism,
of a common metaphysicalhorizon.OslzlL concludes that theatre'scurrentrole,
is to searchforand attempttocreatetheatreritualsthatelicitthe"tearsofjoy
therefore,
or pain [withwhich]it is possibleto wash out thisdust fromour eyes" (28).
ThePoliticsofPerformance
4- Peggy Phelan, Unmarked:
(London: Routledge,1993), 13. My discussion
is also indebtedin general to Phelan's treatmentof the concepts "marked" and "unmarked."
41 Petr
Oslzly, "Divadlo ve svatem kruhu!?,"Proglas,January1995,28.
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DIVADLO NA PROVAZKUAND CZECH COMMUNITY /
441
Communityremainsa centralfactorin creatingsuch rituals.In providingfueland
a reststop to humanitarianaid trucksheaded fortheformer
Yugoslavia,in devoting
of
in
its lobbyspace to theartwork Bosnianchildren,and increasingits international
tours to one every month or two, Provizek demonstratesthat its definitionof
communityhas expanded,notshrunk,sincetherevolution.At home,a 1995producKarlValentinaddressed
tionbuiltaroundtheinterwarcabaretsofGermanperformer
but alluded to the forcedexpatriationof
not only the deficienciesof materialism,
Czech citizensafterWorldWarII. Questionsofmorality
millionsofGerman-speaking
thecenterofProvdizek's
and identity
thuscontinuetoconstitute
concerns,and to serve
as the meansby whichit hopes to wash thedust of materialismfromtheeyes of its
past and possiblypresentcommunity.
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