Archa Theatre

Piškanderdulá = Charming Czech Puppets (Český týdeník, 29. 12. 1995)

People ask what the title of this performance - Piškanderdulá - means. Good question. It is in fact a nonsense word that puppeteer Věra Říčařová and puppet-maker František Vítek found written, apparently by children, on a wall near their home. So it may not have a "meaning" but it reflects certain elements of Říčařová´s and Vítek´s work: an appreciation of child's play, of serendipity, a delight in finding art in odd places, and a touch of surrealism.
          What it doesn't include, though, is that their puppet theatre is as much for adults as for children, and that while their artistic spirit may reflect the imaginative world of children, their craft reflects a very mature level of technical sophistication.
          Vítek hand-carves his puppets from wood to create a menagerie of people and creatures. There are dancers, an acrobat, a trapeze artist, a skeleton, animals and knights in armour. Some of the puppets create their own surreal world, for instance the huge wooden head that opens up mechanically to reveal a pair of sparring boxers. The top of his head, in the meantime, provides a base on which the trapeze artists flips around a pole.
          Some puppets are traditional marionettes which move on strings, others are manipulated by hand, and some operate by ingeniously constructed mechanisms. They are all intentionally naked, without any added decoration. For performances, they are assembled on a tradesman's stage along with a collection of antiquated hurdy-gurdy organs, old records and musical machines. Říčařová plays the instruments and manipulates the puppets - sometimes both at the same time. The performance has a basic planned structure but is partly improvised.
          Říčařová and Vítek have worked together in theatre in the East Bohemian town Hradec Králové for 22 years. Říčařová was originally an actress and Vítek a stage designer and builder. Their independent work with puppets arose from increasing frustration with the ideological restrictions imposed by the Communist regime, which gave them the task of "raising the new childhood." Eventually they left the company they worked with and started looking for a completely new personal language. Their current work is the result.
          Vítek and Říčařová are considered leaders in the renewal and redefinition of puppet theatre in the Czech Republic. At the same time, they are a bit like an endangered species - they perform rarely and generally stay in their native habitat, their old house in Hradec Králové, where Vítek has his workshop.

Piškanderdulá = Charming Czech Puppets

To see Věra Říčarová and František Vítek during their work is an experience in itself. The artist do not hide themselves behind a curtain and return the Czech puppet theatre back to it's roots. But it is very seldom that you are able to see them perform. It is no wonder that already an entire generation of theatre lovers have not seen them. That is, until this Christmas, when "Piškanderdulá - Subtitled Josefe!" appeared at the Archa Theatre.
At the very beginning, they alone themselves modestly say, through the mouth of Věra Říčařová, that the puppets have their own life. Not only on the stage, but also in the silence of the vaults (where they are stored). And so, with a little mystification and with an odd sense for fantasy, visual artist Vítek, with "puppeteer" Říčařová, looked into the mystery of the wood, and decided to show the people what is possible to make out of it. The shape of the stage is the result where nothing is predicted, and everything slowly becomes alive, taking it's shape right before the audience's eyes. On an old carriage pulled by an imaginary, emaciated horse, a variety of things can happen: artists balance on the highwire and on top of the tower of the Town Hall; in their heads, there are match boxes; sometimes we hear speech, sometimes a violinist plays a Paganini concertino; two guys fight for the love of a beautiful girl, dancing; and Death rides away on his horse... The magic of the puppets lasts two hours; three-year old children, as well as the critics, are quite absorbed throughout the entire performance (even though it began at 8 p.m.). The performance graduates, returns and then jumps to the world famous Dance of Death, during which the marionette dislodges each of his body parts - then jerks them all back together again... The atmosphere of the performance is also created by the old, musical instruments which tinkle, stutter and create nice tones. Around all of this, František Vítek flies (literally) and one can see the sweat on his brow. The concentration of both performers is absolute; during this moment, they are living in the world of their puppets. And they leave the mortal life of love, hate and even failure, so they can enjoy themselves, the creators and the people around them. Let's highly regard the art of the good Czech people (…)
To these actors, into the year 1996 - PIŠKANDERDULÁ!

J. P. Kříž, Český týdeník, 29. 12. 1995