Dates

13.5. 2017 / 17:00

Information

In KEEP CALM, two parallel stories will explore the origin of the species known as homo sapiens sapiens, its cultural evolution, and the ups and downs of its history, all of it seen through the lens of contemporary cultural reality. In trying to find their own place in the story of mankind as a species, the performers and their stories are at the center of the performance as subjects of study.

KEEP CALM is based on the proposition that people base their own (cultural) reality on repeated patterns, routines, fictions, and rules. These have been continually changing over the course of human history and are not stable or set in stone. As a result, what we consider reality here and now demands to be deconstructed.

Every day, we are part of a story in which we follow well-known or familiar plot lines. We live according to rules that are subject to cultural norms called “values.” We are surrounded by words, mottos, quotes, slogans, and formulations that are an articulation of these norms/values.

Created by: Sára Arnstein, Jiří Šimek, Marianna Slováková, Štěpán Hejzlar, Ivo Sedláček, Marta Ljubková, Marie Gourdain

Ufftenživot is a performance ensemble dedicated to the creation of original theatre. Its two core members, Sára Arnstein and Jiří Šimek, both graduated from the Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre at the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (DAMU), where they studied acting under Petra Tejnorová. To date, they have created three original performances: the puppet show The Rabbit (2013), GoG (2014), which combined slam poetry with multimedia and movement, most recently Loneliness & Stuff, a physical performance with words.

 Ufftenživot sees theatre as an experience and a space for sharing, a place where we can find our way back to things that we forgot long ago – our natural spirituality, which is beaten down by today’s fast-paced, consumerist way of life. Ufftenživot aims to create experiences that encourage audiences to take a critical view of things, to expand their horizons, and to redefine the things around us. “Our inspiration is the absurdity and inconsistency of the world. We believe in the bigger picture, that theater is a good place for coming together, that simplification is a problem, that our era and the nature of the times are never black-and-white. We enjoy exploring the broad palette of reality by deconstructing it – this is where our ideas come from.”

Web: www.ufftenzivot.cz

Supported by: MOTUS (Alfred ve dvoře), Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and Prague 7 District.

Co-produced by: Divadlo Na Cucky, Studio ALTA, Industra Stage, Kredance

This project was supported by the Czech-German Future Fund.