The Bloody Sonnets: Slovak literary giant’s warning against war comes alive on stage - in English

English-language theatre continues to thrive in Bratislava, exemplified by an ambitious adaptation of a Slovak literary classic. "The Bloody Sonnets" transforms the iconic poems of Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav into a compelling stage production, not only captivating local audiences but also slated for a performance in New York City.

Hviezdoslav’s "The Bloody Sonnets"—a cycle of 32 poems composed in August 1914, at the outbreak of the First World War—stand apart from much of the early war poetry of the time. While much of Europe’s literary output during this period brimmed with patriotic fervour, Hviezdoslav’s sonnets were bleak, prescient, and deeply critical. Written in Dolný Kubín, a town in what is now northern Slovakia, these works remained unpublished until after the war, in 1919, as anything opposing Austria-Hungary’s war efforts would have faced censorship. More than a century later, their message remains strikingly relevant.