The Jungle Book

“As we embark on our journey in search of the stories of the jungle, it’s likely we might discover ourselves along the way. Our ingrained, fanciful ideas about everything we associate with the world of the jungle will soon fade, and we will feel the need to dig deeper, to discover its true beauty. We enter the rainforest in anticipation of pleasant distractions and amusement, but already with the first steps, we feel that if we proceed further, the rays of sunlight that cut through the tree tops high above us will slowly drown in the impenetrable thicket and then disappear, little by little, in its darkness. What awaits us then? Exploration, a quest to find the right path and more than one adventure. Unseen, watchful eyes will be fixed upon us and our eyes that may have forgotten how to observe the world around us will learn to see through the twilight. The rhythm and pulse of the rainforest, the intuition of our senses, and the rediscovered order. This voyage through the jungle will be a journey of self-discovery. Will you join us on it?”
Matěj Forman

About the company

Marko Ivanović
Marko Ivanović is one of the most renowned artists on the current Czech music and theatre scene. He works with leading Czech and foreign theatres, orchestras and festivals. He is also a sought-after composer of stage and radio music. He has won numerous Theatre Critics’ Awards (Alfréd Radok Award) and Theatre Newspaper Awards, most recently for his opera Monument. His original music composed for The Jungle Book will be performed live by the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra in an orchestra pit located inside the theatre tent. He has previously worked with Matěj Forman on the opera A Well-Paid Walk (ND 2007), Obludárium (DBF 2009), Deadtown (DBF 2017) and his own family opera Enchantia (ND 2012). He is currently the chief conductor of the National Theatre Brno.

Matěj Forman
Matěj Forman is a well-known Czech artist and a nomadic theatre actor, set designer and
director. He is the creator of several theatre productions and fairy tales. One of his long-
term projects and activities connected to the Forman Brothers Theatre is the theatre boat Ship of Mysteries, for which the performance Scarlet Sails and the fairy tales Aladdin and The Happy Prince were created. He is the initiator and one of the creators of the travelling exhibition Imaginarium. Matěj Forman collaborates with his brother Petr on the performances of the Forman Brothers’ Theatre, such as the Baroque Opera, La Baraque-Bouda, Rusalka, Obludárium and Deadtown. In collaboration with Andrea Sodomková and other artists, he has won the Alfréd Radok Award for scenography for his productions Beauty and the Beast, A Well-Paid Walk and Enchantia for the National Theatre. Matěj Forman is the author of the script, set designer and director of The Jungle Book.

Štěpán Pechar
Štěpán Pechar is a prominent figure in the field of contemporary dance and movement theatre. The artistic and executive director of the DEKKADANCERS company, he is a choreographer and dancer. During his career, he has performed as a dancer with the National Theatre Ballet, Laterna Magika, the Prague Chamber Ballet, 420PEOPLE company and many more. As a performer, he has collaborated with many international artists (J. Kylián, O. Naharin, A. Ekman). He has produced choreographies for several Czech theatre companies (Laterna Magika, the J. K. Tyl Theatre and the South Bohemian Theatre among others), as well as abroad (The Bavarian State Ballet I and The Bavarian State Ballet II). Štěpán Pechar is the artist behind the choreography for The Jungle Book, which combines dance, movement theatre and acrobatics, and is selecting a cast of outstanding dancers from the Czech Republic and abroad.

Forman Brothers’ Theatre (DBF)
The Forman Brothers’ Theatre is a living, breathing company without a fixed stage or cast, brought together by a shared outlook on work and life, a collective of theatre nomads, who believe in the magic of journeys and wandering. Moving, playing, meeting and staying independent often leads them to unconventional theatre spaces that provoke audiences with their atmosphere, history and intrinsic power. A new team is assembled for every project, each with its own distinct, personal voice that is key to discovering the right dramatic form.

The Forman Brothers’ Theatre’s most memorable works for Czech and international audiences include the Baroque Opera, Scarlet Sails on the Ship of Mysteries, La Baraque – Bouda, Obludárium and Deadtown. For the National Theatre (ND) and other permanent stages, the DBF team has created several exceptional projects, such as the operas Beauty and the Beast (ND), The Well-Paid Walk (ND), Enchantia (ND), Hansel and Grettel (State Opera) and Rusalka (Goose on a String Theatre). The Forman Brothers’ Theatre organises its own theatre festival ARENA, which focuses on contemporary nomadic, theatrical and new circus arts. The theatre has toured the world with its productions, performing in the United States, Russia and many European countries.

DEKKADANCERS
DEKKADANCERS is a project-based dance company founded in 2009. Right from the start, they have been positively received by critics and audiences for their original movement, virtuosity, fresh humour and unbridled energy. In the twelve years of their existence, they have produced countless performances across genres and have established themselves as one of the most attractive contemporary dance companies in the Czech Republic, while also gaining popularity abroad. The company primarily focuses on its own authorial dance performances, with overlaps into other areas, such as drama, stand-up and music.

The company collaborates with leading Czech and foreign artists. Thanks to their captivating work, DEKKADANCERS have produced performances for renowned ensembles and established theatres in the Czech Republic, including the National Ballet in Prague, the National Ballet in Brno, Laterna Magika and many others; they have partnered with companies abroad such as the Bavarian State Ballet I and the Bavarian State Ballet II in Munich, the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Academic Music Theatre in Moscow and the Salzburg Festival.

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra played its first concert on January 4, 1896, in the famed Rudolfinum Hall, conducted by Antonín Dvořák. Today, the orchestra is known not only for its recognised interpretations of Czech composers, but also for its strong relationship to the work of Johannes Brahms, Petr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Gustav Mahler. The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra collaborates with the best Czech and world soloists, conductors and composers. At the initiative of the current chief conductor Semyon Byčkov, the Orchestra has approached nine Czech and five international composers to create works that will be premiered in the upcoming seasons. The Czech Republic’s leading orchestra performs in the most prestigious concert halls from the United States to Japan and releases critically acclaimed recordings. It has a comprehensive music education strategy, working with over four hundred schools and with children from areas of social and economic deprivation. During the pandemic lockdowns, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra organised seven benefit concerts, the proceeds of which were donated to hospitals, charities and healthcare professionals. These concerts were among twenty shows broadcast live by the orchestra in 4K resolution from its newly built Studio Rudolfinum.

Jatka78
The Jatka78 theatre was established in 2014. This international cultural centre located in the Prague Market provides a creative environment for theatre artists from the Czech Republic and abroad. Jatka78’s dramaturgy for both resident and guest companies is dominated by the genres of contemporary circus, physical theatre, dance and alternative theatre. Aside from its resident companies Cirk La Putyka, DEKKADANCERS and Heaven’s Gate, collectives such as Bratři v tricku, Us Boys Who Go Out Together, Temporary Collective and others regularly perform at Jatka78. It also features international guests, predominately contemporary circus companies, such as Canada’s Barcode Circus Company, Gravity and Other Myths from Adelaide, Australia and Analog, a popular contemporary circus group from Berlin, which is closely associated with Jatka78.

Jatka78 initiates both domestic and foreign collaborations, offering a creative space for multidisciplinary partnerships and new art forms. During the pandemic, Jatka78 was involved in the project Film Naživo, which won the Czech Lion Award. In 2021, the theatre’s activities expanded to include a summer stage, the Azyl78 theatre tent. Jatka78 plans to deepen the established connections between Czech and foreign artistic communities, educate through culture, curate content and create its own projects. The Jungle Book is the first performance fully produced by the Jatka78 team.