Day and Night with NANOHACH

The last premiere of the group NANOHACH took part on the 9th May 2016 at the Ponec theatre. Before the performance started, Honza Malík announced the end of the group. The premiere was conceived as a small farewell for spectators as well as the theatre Ponec, which hosted the ensemble throughout its existence of almost twelve years. Fortunately, there were not many sad faces during the evening, because this “last” performance turned out very well. It also seems that even though NANOHACH has come to an end, its members are already working on other plans. For the time being they keep it a secret but we don’t have to worry about them never coming back on the stage. The last piece of the graduates of the Duncan Centre dance conservatory is called Day and Night and Night and Day and it was mainly created by Lea Švejdová and Marta Trpišovská, both choreographers and performers. The spectacular, thought-through piece with pleasant scenography, music and dance is about two interesting women living and creating at the beginning of the 20th century. The first one is the Czech painter Marie Čermínová alias Toyen, and the second one is the English writer Virginia Woolf. At the first sight they are two incompatible people but as we can see right from the beginning of the play, there are some similarities in their lives. The two women are sitting at a table drinking wine; Virginia is passionately smoking. They are wearing big period hats decorated with big flowers, in which they hide things necessary for consuming wine and smoking cigarettes: matches, cups and even an ashtray. During this passage we listen to reproduced spoken word read out by Radka Denemarková, who introduces the context and prepares us for what we’ll see during the following hour. We find ourselves in an apartment furnished in Art Nouveau style. Toyen comes first with her confession. This distinctive and boisterous person has several faces and presents her quirks – wearing men’s clothing and being unbound to an extent that was unacceptable during the period. Her unboundedness can sometimes even lead to provocative animal behaviour – for example when she eats a whole chicken with her fingers. In contrast to her there is Virginia. She feels suffocated by her life, sexual abuse and hostility of the time she was born into. The only world that offers her free existence is the world of writing. Accompanied by energizing nicotine she writes everything down. While talking, both the women mainly move their arms. Toyen, played by Lea Švejdová, uses rather wild and raw expressions. Virginia, portrayed by Marta Trpišovská, is characterized by round, long and flowing movements. Their kinetic dictionary is enhanced by equally distinctive music. Both ladies are dressed in long flowing dress. The dresses follow the period fashion styles but they are also ingeniously adapted so that they did not restrict movement. The most striking element is a round coat which floats through the space like whirling wind on Toyen’s body. The author of all costumes is a very talented designer Mariana Novotná. The last thing to say is that the choice of a spectacular and dramaturgically complex piece was a success of Lea, Marta and the whole team of NANOHACH. Day and Night with Toyen and Night and Day with Virginia are a powerful experience that stays resonating within the body and soul. Written from the premiere on the 9th May 2016 at the Ponec theatre.   Day and Night and Night and Day Concept and choreography: Lea Švejdová and Marta Trpišovská
Scenography: Nora SopkováMusic: Jana Vöröšová
Sound: Veronika Švábová
Light design: Katarína Ďuricová
Costumes: Mariana Novotná
Video work: Mikuláš Arsenjev and Michael Vodenka 
Text: Radka Denemarková 
Voices: Marie Jansová and Anna Kroupová 
Artistic collaboration and cooperation: Radka Denemarková and Monika Sybolová
Production: Honza Malík & NANOHACH, z. s.

Translation: Zuzana Sovová  

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