The Island!

An existential dance expedition into unspoiled Nature. Uncertainty, mistakes, cracks, scratches. Situations cropped to the bone. Emotions. Multimedia scenic modulation of the habitat of a nameless island on Jakubský Pond in the village of Poušť, Nymburk district. Who is a human and who is an animal? A performance that is terribly alive.

“Environmental topics are permeating the news, political actions and our everyday lives with ever-increasing frequency – but what are we actually talking about? Which Nature? The forest where we go to gather mushrooms, that captivates us with its calmness? What is the wild when, out of the total number of mammals in the world, only 4% live in true freedom, 36% are humans, and 60% are reared in captivity for our entertainment or as food? And what is our relationship to the wild when we are part of it?

We tried to create a model situation, a kind of laboratory, into which you put individual elements, set conditions and let the story develop. Associations, links, and real-life situations were freely added, generating further development. We broke through the barriers and started to perceive who was a human and who was an animal. The outlines of the future became clearer.” – Jana Burkiewiczová

Burkicom is a leading Czech contemporary physical theatre company founded in 2015 by choreographer Jana Burkiewiczová. Her unique style, enhanced by collaborations with leading Czech designers, creates distinctive contemporary theatre dealing with current sociological issues, dominated by specific movement techniques and artistic concepts. We dance to say more than just words. We speak to overcome the shadow of a gesture. The image is as important to us as the message. Dance is a flight of the bird of paradise, a cry and an exchange of ideas. Through theatre, we try to understand the society we live in.

Burkicom’s home stage is the industrial space La Fabrika in Prague’s Holešovice, but the company’s productions have also been appreciated by audiences at a number of theatre and dance festivals, including Theatre World (Brno), PAMS (Seoul), SIPA (Indonesia), Recklinghausen Fringe (Germany) and ARFF Amsterdam.

Audience: Adult, Children 15+

Awards/Press

The Island! was one of the top five productions of 2021 at the 2021 Theatre Critics Awards and the highest-rated dance production in the Czech Republic. Iphigenia and Ariadne Toumbeki were nominated for Best Actress, Jaroslav Wertig for Stage Design and Jiří Konvalinka for Music. Burkicom also received 3 nominations/votes for Theatre of the Year 2021.

“If we were to search for the event of the season, then this would be one. Wonderful dancers, great choreography, strong concept.”
Jana Návratová (IDU)

“A fascinating spectacle. Is it an apocalypse or a return to civilization?”
Lucie Hayashi (Svět a divadlo)

“Jana Burkiewiczová’s choreography calls to mind a tornado. It is extravagant in its wild energy and the richness of images built on various situations and movement principles…”
Lucie Kocourková (Opera+)

“Beautiful, the best, wonderful! Make sure you don’t miss the Island!”
Patrik Florián (Dolce Vita).

“A dance production capable of awakening ancient senses we no longer use.”
Barbora Etlíková (Svět a divadlo)