Archa Theatre

Pan Theodor Mundstock (programme from the performance)

A Big, Little Ritual of Mr. Mundstock (MF Dnes)

Archa Theatre and French Institute present the performance of Bruno Boeglin

Pan Theodor Mundstock

Arranged and directed by: Bruno Boeglin
Performing: Bruno Boeglin and Boris Solomiac
Set Design: Yves Bernard
Sound Design: Philippe Cachia
Light Design: Christophe Forey

The performance of "Mr. Theodor Mundstock" was created in association with the Avignon Festival in 1993. Bruno Boeglin from Lyon dramatised and performed the first novel of Czech author Ladislav Fuks, and himself played the very miracle. This amazing visually and emotionally strong performance was awarded the Best Off-Paris performance. It is not necessary for the audience to have a strong grasp of the French language.
          On the gray back drop, a petty man absent-mindedly arouses the audience. Bruno Boeglin stands alone on the stage to play story of Mr. Theodor Mundstock, the employer of a rope and cord factory. He lives alone with his little hen. When the Czech Republic is occupied by Germans, he cannot work because he is a Jew. He tries to commit suicide and he kills his hen. He knows his fate and the learns how to balance life with death. He gives his experiences to little Šimon, his neighbour's son. On the day he receives the summons to go on the transport, Mr. Mundstock is run over by an army truck.
          This performance shocked the audience in Avignon. It shows and explains the huge courage of an ordinary man who waited for his deportation, and his encounter with boy with whom he divulges his secrets.
          It is isn't necessary to know many words in order to understand the performance to its fullest. The performance is based on a very modern understanding of theatre, on the extraordinary artistic performance of Bruno Boeglin. The sight of his blue eyes child's smile give his character a fascinating credibility.
          "I don't mind, if somebody says that I am an artist," Bruno Boeglin says, "I don't mind, if my photos are printed in the newspaper. I just wish for a wooden theatre, somewhere in nature, would smell of new colours. Where man could work as an artisan and where we could be a family with the audience. And where I wouldn't have any fear nor would I feel bad. I dream about it, that sometimes I will make an absolutely simple performance (…)
          I believe that there are moments in my imagination the audience can feel. That is a possibility I can always hope for. I am presenting some hope, it is true, although it is in a very gloomy context. But it doesn't mean, that I am a pessimist…"

A Big, Little Ritual of Mr. Mundstock

French actor and director has adapted Ladislav Fuk's book about a Jewish man, named Theodor Mundstock, who systematically (and of course vainly) prepares for terror of Nazism. The performance, which recently received the award for the best off-Paris performance was presented in Prague's Archa Theatre on Tuesday.
Boeglin precisely outlined the meaning of everyday rituals, such as preparing dinner or washing one's legs, as getting a person's balance. Several moments were impressive, such as when Mundstock talks to his neighbor's son, Šimon or the burial of his hen with whom he lived and whom he killed before his making his first suicide attempt (only the body of hen could have looked more believable!). He did not present the fear of the concentration camp very well. The bright lights and aggressive noise full of cries and commands soon lost the impression as adequate stage movement did not support them...
The production of Boegling's clearly showed that even through language barriers, theatre can really make an impression if it has a theme. At the same time, Boeglin presented how the technical equipment of the Archa Theatre can expressively raise the power of the performance.

Alex Švamberk, MF Dnes, 16. 3. 1995