The presented Audience is a Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre version of Vaclav Havel’s classic autobiographical play. Featuring live actors and traditional marionettes, the one-act play follows Ferdinand Vanek, a distinguished playwright forced to work in a brewery because his writings have been banned by the Communist regime.
Vanek is stuck in the bleak office of his boss in a brewery where he has been forced into manual labor. The brew master always calls him to the office for endless repetition of dialogue, amidst excess consumption of beer. The tiresome bureaucracy and constant fear under the Communists have driven the boss to alcoholism as well as stints of rage and despair, sometimes turning against his inferiors. Vanek, however, refuses to compromise his principles and the mindset of his colleagues, in spite of the promise of promotion.
Playwright: Vaclav Havel. Director: Vit Horejs. Performed by: Vit Horejs (Vanek), Theresa Linnihan (Brew master). Running time: 60 min.
Production design: Alan Barnes Netherton. Production stage management: Hjordis Linn-Blanford. Marionettes: Milos Kasal, Jakub "Kuba" Krejci. Costumes and Vanek marionette: Theresa Linnihan. Producer: Bonnie Sue Stein/GOH Productions. Presented by: GOH Productions, Czech Center New York.
Vaclav Havel’s Audience (1975) is the first of his partly autobiographical one-act plays known as the “Vanek Trilogy” (followed by Unveiling (1975) and Protest (1978) based on his experience of being subjected to forced work while under constant harassment from government agents. Since the plays were banned in Communist Czechoslovakia, they were performed in people’s living rooms and even recorded on vinyl.
For more information about this performance and the 2021 Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival program, visit www.rehearsalfortruth.org.
Free and open to the public. Suggested donation $10. RSVP through Eventbrite is required.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions for indoor events, seating capacity is limited and on first-come first-served basis. Reservations must be made in advance. Wearing a face mask is required. No tickets will be available at the door, and anyone who has not received pre-event confirmation will be turned away. Read about Festival Safety Protocol.
ABOUT THE 2021 REHEARSAL FOR TRUTH THEATER FESTIVAL
The 2021 Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival honoring Vaclav Havel is organized by the Vaclav Havel Library Foundation and Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association. The program is co-produced by the Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre, GOH Productions, Czech Center New York, Polish Cultural Institute New York, One-Eight/Daniel Irizarry Theater, Slovak Consulate General in New York, Palissimo Company, and Arts and Theatre Institute in Prague, Czech Republic.
The 2021 Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and Council Member Ben Kallos. Additional support is by the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in New York, Ceskoslovenska obchodni banka – Member of the KBC Group, PACE.V4 – Performing Arts Central Europe, Visegrad Countries Focus, and International Visegrad Fund.