Rock Café, almost 8pm
and there was a line that extended all the way to the entrance door. This queue
consisted of people wearing punk outfits; fishnet stockings, heavy dark
eye-shadow and some were even rocking out the mohawk. “No way that these people are
going to see the play!” I thought. at that moment I decided to cut the line and
ask the guy at the ticket stall about that. “No, it’s for the punk concert
happening downstairs. You’re going for the play, Right?” It felt victorious to
hold the entrance ticket, so did sitting down next to a few other Anglophone
Studies people in the theatre room who also came to see our fellow student
Magdaléna Hniličková perform.
I was told beforehand
that the play will be 1) short, 2) performed mainly in underwear and yet 3),
not at all erotic in the Nabokov novel sense. Even with these warnings, I did
not expect the performance to have such psychological depth. Through
story-telling, masks and role plays, the two young female characters opened up
to the audience. There were frequent shifts of emotion; at one moment, the
audience was laughing almost hysterically at their wolf dance or sexy-lass
dressing-up, but just as quickly silence filled the room as a story implying
rape was told. This dynamism of both verbal and physical form in combination
with light effects and occasional usage of drumbeat and xylophone music kept
all senses alert and one did not feel the urge (or even thought) to look at the time.
Once the play was
over and the room was in a few-second of darkness, I was in a short mental
pause. As the lights went up again and applause filled the room, I came to the
realization that “Lolitas on the Road” discusses matters that are more relevant
and understandable to women than to men. This was due to lines such as “Why
should you get dressed up for him? You should do so for yourself!” or “Life
with men is hard – but without them, it’s even harder, you have no choice.”
Nonetheless, I believe that both genders can benefit from seeing this performance
that will take your mind off matters like exams, credits or post-Christmas
weight gain, if only for 45-50 minutes.
-
Anna Hupcejová
(Image credits: Vojtěch Morava)
“Lolitas” in a paragraph
The two
"Lolitas" seem to be having a tough time deciding what to wear - but
there are two lost and scared souls crouching underneath the layers of innocent
white cloth or provocative tulle. A thought-provoking play shows the transition
from innocent playfulness to a new identity which may as yet appear unclear and
disturbing. What is the play about, then? About doubts and fears, hidden behind
girlish giggling? About looking for your new identity and being surprised at
what you find? About being supposed to grown up and not having a clue how such
things are done? You’d better see and decide for yourself. This short play may
well provide you with enough food for thought for a week.
-
Denisa Šebestová
