AMAZONES
Premiere: 1st November 2017 in La Fabrika Theatre / Prague
photo: Robert Vystrčil, Michal Hančovský
Amazons. A nation of mythical women, warriors whose furious powers and mercilessness have created bizarre stories.
Speed, strength, resilience, strike, endurance, target, fire, good night !
Who says that violence is not the answer ... ?
… and who is stopping me ?
AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS:
THEATRE NEWSPAPER AWARD 2017/2018 for Lenka Vagnerová: concept, direction and choreography
THALIA AWARD NOMINATION 2017 for Fanny Barrouquére
OPERA PLUS AUDIENCE AWARD NOMINATION 2017:
- THE BEST DANCER: Fanny Barrouquére
- THE BEST CHOREOGRAPHY: Lenka Vagnerová
THE BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR NOMINATION / I-THEATRE 2017
Four female performers on the edge of physical possibilities. Two musicians creating a volley of emotions and endless energy. Two worlds driving each other forward. A nation of mythical women, warriors. Their furious power and ruthlessness gave rise to both mythological and real stories. An organised group of women focusing on their inner perfection and fight, driven by the „messianic“ truth to generating new and new conflicts, predators living in a constant tension with the rest of the world. A crooked community that ruled out men from their lives, training to fight and contempt, feeding its members an extreme vision that requires devotional piety on the edge of a cult. Newcomers with a feeling of emotional insufficiency, looking for a place for unfulfilled self-realisation, a place to take refuge from their dark past, a place to belong to. The sick and perverted philosophy does not last long. Asfast as the philosophy evolves, it becomes self-destructive.
CREDITS :
Concept, choreography, direction, dramaturgy: Lenka Vagnerová
Music: Andrej Jurkovič
Performed by: Fanny Barrouquére / Matilde Giacomelli, Jana Maroušková / Markéta Děrgelová, Monika Částková / Eliška Hulínská, Barbora Dimmock / Julie Kubrychtová, Tomáš Formánek, Zdeněk Imramovský
Coordinator of fighting scenes: Radek Mačák
Scenography and costumes: Michal Heriban
Light design: Michal Kříž
Sound: Andrej Jurkovič
Producer: Lenka Vagnerová & Company
Rehearsed at: STUDIO ALTA, Taneční škola HES
Project supported by: Capital City of Prague, Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, Taneční aktuality, La Fabrika, FightStuff, ROBE
REVIEWS:
★★★★★ “You will not cease to be fascinated by the first to the last of the picture, which is almost alternating with film cuts, they are graduating, they do not stop to surprise. The Amazones are reigning with physical action and visually powerful images."
“A raw, captivating, absorbing, honest theatrical work. I recently said that dance theatre necessarily needs dramaturgists and directors. Lenka Vagnerová is one of the exceptions who does not need this and she can translate exactly what she wants to say on the stage with the means that are the most impressive, while avoiding pathos and kitsch.“
“Their arms are strong, their instincts guarded like a cheetah´s body, sowing death and loving the smell of blood. It distributes terror and horror, creating a picture of a twisted society of women where for nothing else but hunting and fighting instincts there is no room for any emotion.” (OPERA PLUS / LUCIE KOCOURKOVÁ / ŽENY KTERÉ ROZSÉVAJÍ SMRT/ 100%)
“The stunning physical theatre is thus reflected by the live theme, and four fantastic performers cast out for the entire Amazonian bloodbath regiment. A sophisticated structure instead of a cathartic dash will make the viewer more amazed. " (I-DIVADLO.CZ / MICHAL NOVÁK)
"I lost my head completely from this performance, and after a thank you I could not even find my voice. The famed, unstoppable, incredibly physically and emotionally gifted performance of four sophisticated dancers left me for a moment more than just staring in mute astonishment and admiration. Long after I returned home, I could not sleep. The events on the stage can not be described by words, you have to see them or experience them." (I-DIVADLO.CZ / OSGOOD)
“The exceptionally talented choreographer Vagnerová is currently valued and admired not only on the domestic dance scene, but also abroad. Every work of hers has enormous energy and dynamics.”
“Only four performers - dancers dissolve the scene as if they were the entire regiment.” (NOVINKY.CZ / MARCELA BENONIOVÁ / RECENZE ZLO A KRUTOST V PŘÍMÉM PŘENOSU)
“The Amazons are a dramaturgically very well-constructed work that, despite the high energy demand, manages to escalate. They are again a brilliant mischief of a renowned creator. You will swallow every movement, you will have goose bumps and you might be a little afraid. It's really a jolt ..."
"In every cruelty, they experience pleasure, euphoria. Black energy compels them and drives them forward. There are no traces of feminine tenderness." (DIVADELNÍ ZÓNA / MARKÉTA FAUSTOVÁ / MORTAL KOMBAT LENKY VAGNEROVÉ)
“Lenka Vagnerová has been among the principal choreographers of our contemporary stage for many years. She differs from most of them in the seriousness with which she approaches the themes and the honesty and knowledge of the choreographic craft. Her subjects are never shallow. Her choreographies are never accidental. “
“We usually do not see a strong connection between violence, which is a general topic here, and women, and tend to wrap myths up in a romantic robe. In this performance we will see the violence of women. Violence here is not roughly naturalistic; it is stylized and ironic. It is filtered through the dance style.”
"The production is a mixture of self-irony, expert and physically demanding movement, spikes of healing sadism and introspective masochism and lots of choreographic humor."
"We certainly have an event of the season" (DIVADELNÍ NOVINY / NINA VANGELI)
“The productions of her ensemble belong to the best of what the rich Czech alternative stage offers. Vagnerová is incomparable in the distinctive artistic manuscript with which she creates her productions.”
“The productions of her ensemble belong to the best of what the rich Czech alternative stage offers. Vagnerová is incomparable in the distinctive artistic manuscript with which she creates her productions.”
“We see the flamboyant women's eyes and their hands clenched in a fist breaking the space, accompanied by a rhythmically pulsing electronic mix. Amazons fight not only with their enemies, but above all with themselves and with each other. Motion escalations gain in strength and aggression. The warriors beat the ground with their ropes, swirl them overhead and give the impression of horse riding. They are like wild, unruly mares. “ (TANEČNÍ AKTUALITY / LUCIE DERSCÉNYIOVÁ / ŽENY V ROLÍCH NEMILOSRDNYCH PREDÁTOREK)
"Intensive glimmer of rawness, explosiveness, militancy, power and violence. Hit, kill! Me or you! It's undoubtedly stunning and some scenes will literally swallow you. " (I-DIVADLO.CZ / JAN PAŘÍZEK)
“But the original performance would deserve even more of the best marks.”
“We are participants in the animal fight of violence and humility. Aggression with inactivity. Dynamics with lethargy. Activities with indifference.” (TANEČNÍ MAGAZÍN / MICHAL STEIN / AMAZONKY ? LOVKYNĚ LEBEK)
MEDIA:
CZECH TV / DIVADLO ŽIJE : Amazonky - new creation of Lenka Vagnerová
CZECH RADIO VLTAVA / MOZAIKA / ART CATÉ
OPERA PLUS / LUCIE KOCOURKOVÁ / INTERVIEW with Lenka about Amazones
TANEČNÍ AKTUALITY / DANIELA MACHOVÁ / Lenka Vagnerová about Amazones
