Social & External
François Coulon
Elle
Eglantine
Cimrman sees the reason for the popularity of the Blanik legend in Bohemia mainly in the geographical location of our homeland. In agreement with Palacký, he was aware that "we are here in Europe like a grain between two millstones. From the west, German imperialism presses upon us, and from the east, the expansionism of the Great Russian colossus crushes us. It is no wonder that a small nation under such pressure seeks supernatural and even miraculous protection, for only a miracle can enable it to survive here."
The original score was in a sorry state: the notes were carelessly marked, the lines were broken, and the paper was covered in smudges. I took the utmost care in reconstructing it: I erased the smudges, traced the lines with a ruler, blackened the bellies of the quarter notes, and added tails to the eighth and sixteenth notes. I believe that today's version of the work will stand up to even the most rigorous standards.
The result of a clash between two intellectual forces: the artist's irrepressible creative instinct and the equally irrepressible instinct of the small Czech self-sufficient farmer. While on the one hand we see an admirable effort to understand and portray the world and get to the essence of human behavior, on the other hand we encounter only a mundane effort to dry a few mushrooms for the winter. In the case of this play, Josef Padevět's small, bitter world unfortunately prevails.
The play itself tells the story of a harrowing journey aimed at restoring Princess Goldilocks’s feminine beauty—she had been enchanted by the evil giant Koloděj. In the first scene, Prince Jasoň arrives at the royal castle and discovers that his beloved bride—Princess Zlatovláska—has (thanks to Koloděj’s magic) a beard and a foot size of “45.” Jason decides to free Zlatovláska from the evil curse, and together with her, her royal father, and Bystrozrakým, he sets off to see Děd Vševěd for advice on how to deal with Koloděj. Watching everything from afar is Jasoň’s twin—the evil Prince Drsoň, who is preparing to intervene at the right moment and claim the princess for himself...
Cimrman's play about Czech expedition to north pole.
Poverty was one of the many unfortunate aspects of Cimrman's life. His traveling theater company, Lipany, suffered from high actor turnover. If an actor's departure was agreed upon well in advance, the situation could be managed. However, if it happened with shouting and slamming doors, often just a few hours before the performance, the troupe and its director experienced some tense moments. Such experiences form the backdrop to the play. Lovers of the work of this unrecognized Czech artist are now able to access testimony from this area of the master's life, in which his destiny was most fulfilled—the theater.
This traditional seminar will introduce you to the most basic facts about Jára Cimrman. The ensuing play will show how difficult it is for some people to come to terms with new knowledge from their past.
On the occasion of the opening of the famous Vienna "Riesenrad," a competition was held for the best operetta. A Czech, Jára Cimrman, also submitted his entry, a sweeping seven-hour work entitled "Proso." Due to what was perhaps his only negative trait, a slight stinginess, he did not send the score by registered mail, which allowed Franz Lehár, Johann Strauss, Oskar Nedbal, and other members of the jury to literally tear apart the brilliant operetta fresco. After many decades, a team of Czech Cimrmanologists has proven that the author of the world-famous melodies from Die Fledermaus, Polská krev, and many other operettas is the forgotten Pojizeřan Cimrman.
Three passengers are traveling in the luxuriously appointed saloon car of an international express train: the famous Czech police inspector Trachta, the industrialist Meyer, who manufactures everything needed to keep warm (fur coats, rum, fireclay bricks), and the factory owner Bierhanzel, a manufacturer of hair-thickening ointment. At the Istanbul station, the trio is joined by the inspector’s protégé, police trainee Jindřich Hlaváček, who is finishing his thesis on train crime. The journey proceeds smoothly until factory owner Bierhanzel is struck by a toothache...
Claudine, a florist in her fifties, has an appointment with Valentin, her best friend and confidant. She wants to tell him about the love she has felt for him for five years. But the young man is an eternal seducer. He does not seem to be on the same wavelength as her friend.
François Pignon, an accountant in a condom factory, learns that he is going to be fired. Already overwhelmed by personal problems, he decides to throw himself out the window. He is stopped in his tracks by his next-door neighbor who suggests an unexpected plan to keep his job: pretend to be a homosexual. Assuming that in this age of political correctness, one does not fire a gay man, he manages to convince Pignon to play along while remaining a discreet and shy little man... What will change is the way others look at him. Pignon will thus benefit from an unusual reintegration by coming out of a closet where he had never entered.
Paris, in 1942. The wearing of the yellow star is decreed. On the verge of bankruptcy, Joseph Haffmann, a Jewish jeweler, offers his employee, Pierre Vigneau, to entrust him with his shop if he agrees to hide it until the situation improves for the Jewish community in France. Will Peter take the risk to clandestinely host his "old" boss? And if so, under what condition? Pierre finally accepted. Named six times for Molières, four times awarded, this play by Jean-Philippe Daguerre has been adapted for the cinema with, in the main roles, Daniel Auteuil, Sara Giraudeau and Gilles Lellouche. The film will be released in 2021.
Luca Cupiello lives with the wife Concetta, the son Tommasino, and a brother, Pasquale. The son is wild, living by gimmicks and stealing from his uncle; the daughter Ninuccia does not get along with her husband Nicolino and plans to run away with her lover Vittorio; the wife tries to hide her family's troubles from her husband. Luca, who silently suffers the family situation, takes refuge in setting up the Nativity scene.
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