AUDIENCE by Vaclav Havel



4pm - Performed by Kaspar Theater Company of Czech Republic, AUDIENCE belongs to a trilogy of partly autobiographical one-act plays abased on Vaclav Havel's experience of being forced to work in a brewery and under constant harassment from the Communist regime.



In Czech with English subtitles.

Complimentary admission, RSVP required. Free reception, Cash bar.


 


10/06/19 - 10/06/19

4pm


AUDIENCE belongs to a trilogy of partly autobiographical one-act plays also known as the Vanek Trilogy, comprising Audience (1975), Protest (1978) and Mistake (1983), based on Havel's experience of being forced to work in a brewery and under constant harassment from the Communist regime. Taking place in the brewery's office, Audience is a meeting between the brewery's manager Sladek and employee Vanek. While the manager is clearly opening too many beers and inducing binge drinking, it is less clear what he wants from Vanek, though it ultimately transpires he has a deal to offer: a promotion against information on Vanek's political activities.


Kaspar Theater Company in Celetna, Prague, Czech Republic - Jakub Spalek established the Kaspar (Jester) Theater Company in 1990. Its repertory includes classical plays such as Cyrano and Richard II as well as plays by contemporary playwrights like Friel, Kelly, Ives, Villquist, O'Rowe, McDonagh, Vyrypayev.

After many years on their permanent stage at Celetna Theater, the Kaspar Theater Company decided to open a new venue called the Clubhouse. They used this new space to renew the tradition of "Apartment Theater." Originally, "Apartment Theater" involved the performance of a play inside a house or apartment. It developed during the communist era as a way for performers to stage forbidden productions while avoiding the censorship of the government. Under the slogan "we can't get closer" the Kaspar Theater Company presents twelve plays in the Clubhouse, including Audience by Vaclav Havel. Following the tradition of "Apartment Theater," the company puts on these productions with small audiences in the more confined spaces offered by their new venue. These plays are "the private pleasure and enjoyment" of the company.

 

Jakub Spalek
A distinctive, hard-headed, talented actor, director, and principal, Jakub Spalek is a boss who puts his heart and emotions into everything. In 1990 he founded the Kaspar theatrical association, and five years later Celetna Theater where Kaspar and other ensembles perform. He is a trained actor who also directs.

 

Jan Potmesil
In summer 1989, he finished his studies at the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and joined Vinohrady Theater. Later that year, he hooked up with other students and actors who were going to Ostrava to persuade the miners to support the Velvet Revolution. On the way back, his car crashed on a frozen road. Since then, Potmesil has been paralyzed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair. He performed several major characters in plays at Kaspar theater; the most notable ones include Charlie Gordon in Flowers for Algernon (more than ten years in the repertoire), the title role in Richard III (for which he received Alfred Radok Award for Best Actor), Jesus in Felix Mitterer's Trouble in the House of God, and Polonius in Hamlet.


 

Author
Vaclav Havel

Director
Jakub Spalek

Performers
Jan Potmesil and Jakub Spalek

Tags: Theater, New Europe, 2019