WE WERE A HANDFUL

BLOG: Jaroslav Štěpaník’s Periodical (No. 94)

(…) Writer Jan Šotkovský and director Mikoláš Tyc set about adapting the book for the theatre together. They retained the main storyline, gave the script a bit of added pace and enriched it with some humorous twists with some clear and original writing. The dynamic conclusion with excellent musical numbers hits the spot and was extremely well received by the audience. The atmosphere of the time was enhanced by the use of colour in the set and the choice of costumes. The play has great pace and the individual scenes come thick and fast.

(…) The cast is well-chosen and well-matched, and they captured the characters and roles entrusted to them nicely without exception. We might give particular praise to the actors playing the young Bajza (Libor Matouš) and his female counterpart (Barbora Remišová). They get the biggest laughs in their small roles, while the audience will also certainly be happy to welcome experienced long-standing stars of the stage at Brno City Theatre – Zdena Herfortová, who gave a perfect and entertaining performance as the unbearable mother-in-law Vařeková, and Miloslav Čížek, who has already demonstrated his sense of comedy many years ago in operetta at the then State Theatre in Brno. He beautifully portrayed the rigorous protector of good morals and punisher of all injustices. We should also not neglect to mention Father Bajza as played by Michal Isteník. He suited the role well, played it with gusto, and added his own unique touch to it.

Thanks to everyone in the acting ensemble, the production team and the “invisible” people behind the scenes without whom nothing is possible, the New Year’s Eve production will bring wellbeing, entertainment and laughter. It may also evoke memories of your own childhood and prove a fitting commemoration of that warm-hearted writer of humorous novels Karel Poláček.

We Were a Handful: times when the world seemed simpler

The Drama Theatre at Brno City Theatre has received a visit from the five boys from Poláček’s cult novel WE WERE A HANDFUL, which has been adapted by Jan Šotkovský and Mikoláš Tyc, who also directed the production. This theatrical version, like Poláček’s literary work, offers the audience a nostalgic return to the idyllic world of childhood at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when worries were small and life was still clear.

(…) Mikoláš Tyc’s direction focuses on the acting performances, devoting special attention to the adult actors in children’s roles. Their gestures, speech and movements are perfectly adapted to a child’s age, and this, along with the costumes evoking the period at which the novel was written, makes an authentic and playful effect.

Set designer Marek Cpin has created a set with a distinctive symbolism and a dreamlike quality. The dominant feature is the suspended circular roof of a merry-go-round surrounded by a stylised sky with white and purple clouds on a sky-blue background. The suspended clock on which time has come to a stop evokes a ritual in which the children jump up to touch it. This scene refers to a game with time, a metaphor for the merry-go-round of life and, above all, an idealised reflection of childhood that carries with it both hope and nostalgia. Poláček wrote his novel during World War II, shortly before his deportation to Terezín, which gives his rose-tinted perspective a specific meaning – as a means of escaping into the world of imagination and overcoming the hardships of a time when the future was uncertain. Cpin has also augmented this poetry with the stylisation of the costumes which evoke the 1940s. The costumes of the adventure novel heroes inspired by westerns and the circus are, in contrast, a playful parody.

Robin Schenk’s music also augments the atmosphere and is particularly exuberant during the scenes featuring the boys’ adventures.

(…) The acting is of a high standard, particularly in the performance of Libor Matouš as Petr Bajza, who not only advances the plot and introduces the audience to the individual episodes of the story, but also excels in moments of boyish dilemmas and adolescent embarrassment. Michal Isteník gives a believable portrayal of a loving but pragmatic businessman in the role of Bajza’s father, whose marital interactions with Evelína Studénková as Bajza’s mother add another comic dimension to the story. Zdena Herfortová, as Grandma Vařeková, convincingly conveys the small-town mentality, and her recycled clichés and nosiness seem both amusing and slightly unpleasant. Bajza’s group of friends, whose interactions lie at the heart of the story, also play an important role, particularly Jiří Daniel, Ondřej Halámek, Marek Hurák and Jakub Uličník. Each of the actors, from the main characters to the supporting characters, contributes to the variety and persuasiveness of the production.

The theatrical adaptation WE WERE A HANDFUL at Brno City Theatre celebrates the humour and linguistic richness of Poláček’s piece, while the precise work of the production team provides a vivid and touching reflection not only of childhood, but also of hope in difficult times. This production does not endeavour to be merely a nostalgic spectacle, but offers a deeper connection to human experience and universal themes of friendship, family and the search for harmony in difficult times. The viewer leaves not merely entertained, but also with a slight sadness for a time when the world seemed simpler and closer to the heart.

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