The Vizita Theatre
The best in the end (Divadelní noviny)

Photos from the performance
Previous recorded broadcast of the performance Horse's Mane on internet
Dance Hop / Tancovačka (June 23, 2001)




The Vizita Theatre

The VIZITA Theatre is a unique ensemble on Czech theatre scene. Since its establishment in 1981, it has been examining the possibilities of improvisation and spontaneous creation.
          In the first five years of its existence, VIZITA concentrated on "narrated" theatre and variations on a given topic and a given story line, which were modified and worked out anew in every performance, depending on the momentary conditions both on stage and in the auditorium. VIZITA introduced a new play every year. Since 1986, VIZITA has been dealing with "pure" improvisation, i.e. spontaneous creation from the zero point, in which actors have no pre-conceived ideas before they come on stage. VIZITA is interested in the present moment of being.
          The only rule of the entirely improvised performances is devoting oneself fully to the present moment. The protagonists of VIZITA are convinced that there is a constantly pulsing energetic field between the stage and the auditorium where one can become entirely free only by opening up and letting go of the usual pseudo-certainties. That is why VIZITA uses no scripts prepared before the performance. VIZITA's main topic is the real PRESENT MOMENT which enables the spectator to watch the performance "from the inside", to become not only an observing recipient, but rather an active participant engaged in the process. The actors do not want to make an impression by their virtuosity; they strive to awaken the interior world of the spectators' imagination. It is an attempt at living through a shared experience. Every performance of VIZITA resembles a kind of fantasy ritual.
          Jaroslav Dušek is a theatre maker who is the link among all activities of the VIZITA theatre. He was a founding member of VIZITA and he has been examining the possibilities of open play ever since its establishment. His intense interest in this field led him all the way to becoming a teacher in 1987 and the assistant of Ivan Vyskočil, the pioneer and the leading theoretician of open dramatic play in the Czech Republic who was the artistic director of the Theatre Na Zábradlí in the early 1960's, then the head and an actor of the Nedivadlo theatre. Today, Ivan Vyskočil is the head of the Department of Author /?/ Theatre and Training at the Theatre Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.
          Jaroslav Dušek is the head of the drama department of the State Conservatory of Jaroslav Ježek in Prague which provides space to alternative artistic forms as well. Besides, he writes for the radio, television, theatre and film and works as a director and actor.
          All attempts to monitor and document VIZITA's activities fail to a major extent, owing to the fact that VIZITA never repeats its performances. Each play takes place only once and thus becomes its own premiere and derniere at the same time. It is never known beforehand what VIZITA is going to play about and in what way. Each performance has a different stage and light design, each story takes place only once. Any documentation (review, photography or video) thus documents irreversible past in fact, saying nothing whatsoever about future performances.
          VIZITA's activities range from narrated radio improvisations to theatre performances involving music, speech and movement or even ritual performances involving only light, music and movement with the exclusion of speech. VIZITA strives to create each performance out of and with the spirit of the place where it takes place.
          Czech Radio in Prague introduces a regular series called A Visit to the VIZITA Theatre, broadcasting live plays created on the spot (one of those plays won a reward for improvisation at the Prix Bohemia 1993 festival, the main prize at Prix Bohemia 1994 in the category of drama, and the Silver Diploma at the international festival of radio plays Prix Futura Berlin 1995).
          VIZITA plays in the Archa Theatre in Prague as well as many other cities and places of the Czech Republic. (On a regular basis, it performs in the West Bohemian Theatre in Cheb, the theatre Pod čepicí in České Budějovice and the Music Theatre in Olomouc.)

Performances abroad:

1993 - The Week of Prague in Gent, Belgium
1994 - The Week of Prague in Antwerp
1994 - The Week of Prague in Stockholm
1996 - The Eighth International Festival of Experimental Theatre in Cairo





The best in the end

Jaroslav Dušek and his co-actors have bad luck in certain way. Their total improvisation is a formation not graspable from theatre critics point of view, so that Vizita is, even if, written about as phenomen, while particular concrete performations irrevocably disappear in oblivion. And despite a consciousness of certain foolness of this doing I feel a need to remind one of these concrete performations of Jaroslav Dušek and Pjér Lašéz, the one which was performed as Harphenist kidnapping at Archa Theatre on the 5th of October and was the most pleasant experience of new season (and the best performed during the last five-year-plan as well - at least from those I have seen).
          This time Vizita really played about a harphenist (for not insiders: it would be very naive to presume what will be played on the stage according to a title of the performance). There is no point in making fool of myself by trying to reproduce a story of a harphenist with a heart in open hands suffering, among other problems, from oidipus problems and unfullfilled desire to become an accountant. It is quite impossible but that not what is going on here; who has ever seen Vizita knows what I am speaking about. What is admirable at all cases is at least an ability to make up a story, though absurd and spreading, but consistent and closed and at the same time to gloss it, burlesque it and amend it with songs (also improvisied). However traditional base of performances - and the thing that really makes Vizita - is developing and wrapping the story by using associative jumps and surprising logic flip-flops: triad harfeník - harfena - Harapes with following shift to balet be presented - as one of many - especially becouse of its brevity and rememberity(????). Near to Dušek, Pjér Lašéz enforced himself more this time than usually with direct and rawer (???) patches (however he handled especially with music accompaniment, but in Harphenist hijack extraordinary important according to musical approach).
          On usual habits this time Jaroslav Dušek antagonized an audience to participation straight -off at the begining - and then he showed phenomenal balance between verbal pulling-in spectators in play and amusing ruling optional tries of disturbing exhibition. He had got good luck. Even the most active volunteer co-operator, "mr. Šimpl" from the first row was containing himself: his striped jacket was shown at least ten times, but he did not enforced himself strong enough to break really the performance.
          And in the end: th eperformace was sold out. I hope, that longing increasing interest on Vizita is a result of its unique creation above all, not only personal "visualization" of Jaroslav Dušek through taking part in problematic, but publicly much more accepted projects as Pelíšky.

Vladimír Mikulka, Divadelní noviny, 2. 11. 1999