The boxing ring is open, let chauvinism take the stage!
In the early twentieth century, a young philosopher writes his book, Gender and Character. Shortly after its release, in early October 1903, he rents an apartment in Vienna. The philosopher’s name is Otto Weininger and he is twenty-three years old. The apartment he has rented is the same one where Ludwig van Beethoven died. Of course, it’s not a coincidence… In July 1968, a woman enters the studio of a famous artist and shoots at him. The woman’s name is Valerie Solanas, and, later that evening, she reports herself to a traffic cop. The man she was aiming at was Andy Warhol.
Two people who cannot be reconciled to the world and their own lives. Two people who despised the opposite sex and ostentatiously stated their positions. Misogyny (hatred of women) and misandry (hatred of men) at pivotal moments in the twentieth century. “A woman is either a mother or a whore; neither offers anything good, let alone intelligent. Even the worst man is still more valuable than the best woman…” “…the male is an incomplete female, a walking abortion, aborted at the gene stage. To be male is to be deficient, emotionally limited; maleness is a deficiency disease and males are emotional cripples.” How many people will nod in agreement, whether openly or in secret?
English subtitles available
Audience: adult, children 15+
About the company
The Švanda Theatre in Smichov is a free cultural space on the left bank of the Vltava River. The theatre invites the audience to take part in the theatrical experience and engage in the dialogue we work to achieve through fresh dramaturgy and the formulation of distinct attitudes in politically and artistically unambiguous productions.
Spitfire Company is an artistic company that includes works of physical, visual and dance theatre. It is currently one of the most progressive ensembles of authorial theatre in the Czech Republic.
genres
Drama
THEATRE / COMPANY
National Theatre Prague / Činohra Národního divadla
CZECH TITLE
Bakchantky
AUTHOR
Bakchantky
DIRECTION
Jan Frič
MUSIC
Jakub Kudláč
DRAMATURGY
Nina Jacques
STAGE DESIGN
Dragan Stojčevski
COSTUME DESIGN
Marek Cpin
LIGHTING DESIGN
Přemysl Janda, Jiří Podubský
SOUND DESIGN
Pavel Hořák
LENGTH OF THE PERFORMANCE
97 minutes
STAGE AREA
Large
NUMBER OF TRAVELLING PERSONS
57
LANGUAGE
Czech, Subtitles available
AUDIENCE
Adult, Children
AWARDS
This production won an award in the Theatre Critics Awards for the First Czech Play in 2020.