ČSHPČR - Divadlo v okovech

ČSHPČR – Divadlo v okovech is a Czech amateur authorial theatre company based in Prague. It was founded in 1993 at the private Jan Palach Grammar School in Prague. The acronym ČSHPČR originally stood for "Česká společnost herecká při časopisu Reakce" (Czech Actors' Society at the magazine Reakce), a now-defunct literary occasional publication; it is often mistakenly interpreted today as "Czech Actors' Society of the Parliament of the Czech Republic" or similar. The name is itself an abbreviation of an originally much longer name composed of a hundred words. The ensemble has always been purely authorial, creating its own texts and productions. It first gained significant attention in 1994 with a second place at a theatre showcase during Jan Palach Week, culminating in a gala evening at Žofín. It quickly became a phenomenon on small Prague stages and club scenes, toured throughout the Czech Republic, and was invited to foreign alternative theatre festivals. Its distinctive productions earned recognition from experts such as professor Jan Císař, theatre director Ivo Krobot, critic Vladimír Hulec, and dramaturge Markéta Hoskovcová, as well as audience favour. After 1997 and the departure of founder Ladislav Doležal, the ensemble went through a major crisis, from which two new leaders emerged: Jan Javornický and Ladislav Niklíček. Since then the company has performed under the modified name ČSHPČR – Divadlo v okovech. The development of the theatre can be traced through reviews published in the magazine Amatérská scéna. Over time, many figures from Czech culture have collaborated with the ensemble, including actor Jan Potměšil, musician and journalist Jan Borovička, artist and musician Pavel Kafka, aesthetician Jana Jebavá, conceptual artist Milena Dopitová, and others. The company also cooperates with theatre ensembles such as Divadlo Kámen, Proč?, Drátěné siroty, and others, and with the civic association Podblanickem. It has received support from the Open Society Fund. The basic principles of ČSHPČR – Divadlo v okovech's work have remained essentially the same throughout its existence, shaping dozens of productions and creating a distinctive face for the ensemble. It produces performances unrestricted in genre and form, playing with the rules and conventions of theatre. Its texts often show postmodern features: hypertextual references, play of signs and meanings, emphasis on semantic emptiness, and a search for new meanings in new contexts. The acting style is closest to the thinking of Antonin Artaud. Currently, Divadlo v okovech performs at the Žižkov club Zadní vrátka, where it also provides a stage for other amateur ensembles.

The ensemble ČSHPČR was founded in 1993 at the private Jan Palach Grammar School in Prague. The acronym originally stood for "Česká společnost herecká při časopisu Reakce" (Czech Actors' Society at the magazine Reakce), a literary occasional publication that no longer exists. The name is itself an abbreviation of an originally much longer name composed of a hundred words, which, although preserved, has become increasingly difficult to decipher over time. As early as 1994, the ensemble, which has always been purely authorial, made a significant mark by taking second place at a theatre showcase during Jan Palach Week, which culminated in a gala evening at Žofín. It quickly became a phenomenon especially on small Prague stages and club scenes, but also on tours essentially throughout the Czech Republic. It was also invited to foreign alternative theatre festivals and did not go unnoticed by the mass media. The distinctive productions of ČSHPČR gained recognition from experts (professor Jan Císař, theatre director Ivo Krobot, theatre critic Vladimír Hulec, dramaturge Markéta Hoskovcová, etc.) and the favour of audiences. After 1997 and the departure of founder Ladislav Doležal, the ensemble experienced a significant crisis, from which two new leading figures emerged: Jan Javornický and Ladislav Niklíček. Since then, the ensemble has carried the modified name ČSHPČR – Divadlo v okovech, under which it still performs today. At a performance by the aforementioned duo as part of a nomination for Šrámkův Písek in 2005, however, the audience did not even wait for the end of the improvisational detective play "Vražda tapírem" and left the hall. Similarly, the ensemble's presentation with the story "O amatérech" and the short play "Milfajt" at the Prague qualifying showcase for Šrámkův Písek in 2007 was, according to critics, a disaster. The development of the theatre can be traced retrospectively through reviews published in the magazine Amatérská scéna. Over time, many figures from Czech culture collaborated with the ensemble: actor Jan Potměšil; musician, journalist, geochemist and mycologist Jan Borovička; artist and musician Pavel Kafka; aesthetician and Charles University pedagogue Jana Jebavá; conceptual artist Milena Dopitová; Jan Kábrt, Czech karate vice-champion; film director and screenwriter and theatre actor Martin Šinkovský; film documentarian Tomáš Hodan; film director, writer and theatre actor Luboš Pavel; film and television director Tomáš Krejčí; poet and musician Pavel Šenkapoun; director and playwright Petr Macháček; and theatre ensembles Divadlo Kámen, Proč?, Drátěné siroty, Šinkyho Dan, Kostra ovsa and others. ČSHPČR cooperates with the civic association Podblanickem, which deals with the development and sustainability of life in the countryside. ČSHPČR has received support from the Open Society Fund. The basic principles of ČSHPČR – Divadlo v okovech's work have remained essentially the same throughout its existence, going through dozens of productions and creating a kind of face for the ensemble. ČSHPČR – Divadlo v okovech has produced a number of performances completely unrestricted in genre and form. It is precisely the play with the rules and conventions of theatre that attracts the most attention in these productions. It is also a fundamental element of the texts from the workshop of ČSHPČR – Divadlo v okovech, which often exhibit from today's perspective characteristic features of postmodernism: especially a number of hypertextual references, play of signs and meanings, emphasis on the semantic emptiness of signs, and conversely with the belief that "everything is full of meaning", the search for new "signifié" in new contexts. The influence of philosophy leads to extremes as in the play Fiofi (2000), which partly takes place in Latin and Attic Greek of the 4th century BC, and almost all dialogues are an allegory of philosophical disputations of important authorities in the history of philosophy, making the play completely incomprehensible to the ordinary audience. All this is moreover enclosed in the form of a kind of dadaist farce, abundantly interspersed with music and songs, which is again a tradition of ČSHPČR productions, which are not afraid of ballet or operetta either. Misunderstanding by the audience forced ČSHPČR – Divadlo v okovech to a certain, at least partial, trivialization: for example, Vražda tapírem (2003), a play built on the thesis of French poststructuralist philosopher Michel Foucault about the death of the author, is quite easily perceived as a detective story with a funny plot. If we wanted to describe the acting of ČSHPČR – Divadlo v okovech quite generally, we must forget the classical dichotomy Stanislavski – Brecht; instead, we find ourselves closest through the thinking of Antonin Artaud (Le Théâtre et son double). What the performances of ČSHPČR – Divadlo v okovech are based on is thus rather the way of grasping theatrical conventions, the way of moving in the theatre, in a role, in a production. This mode of theatre creates the specificity, the seal, the unmistakability of ČSHPČR – Divadlo v okovech. Currently, Divadlo v okovech performs at the Žižkov club Zadní vrátka, where, in addition to staging its own plays, it enables other amateur ensembles to perform.

• 2007

  Presentation at Prague qualifying showcase for Šrámkův Písek was critically panned.

• 2005

  Audience left during nomination performance for Šrámkův Písek.

• 2003

  Play Vražda tapírem created, based on Foucault's death of the author.

• 2000

  Play Fiofi performed, partly in Latin and Attic Greek.

• 1997

  Founder Ladislav Doležal departed; Jan Javornický and Ladislav Niklíček emerged as new leaders; name changed to ČSHPČR – Divadlo v okovech.

• 1994

  Won second place at a theatre showcase during Jan Palach Week, culminating at Žofín.

• 1993

  Ensemble founded at Jan Palach Grammar School in Prague.

Experimental amateur authorial theatre known for playing with theatrical conventions and postmodern texts.

• 2000

  Fiofi

  Play partly in Latin and Attic Greek, allegory of philosophical disputations.

• 2003

  Vražda tapírem

  Detective play based on Foucault's thesis on the death of the author.

• 2007

  O amatérech a Milfajt

  Story and short play presented at Prague showcase.

1. 1ČSHPČR - Divadlo v okovech - Wikipediacs.wikipedia.org
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