The American troupe performs "And David danced".photo: Courtesy BELTS
The 4th annual festival "Play in English 2001" will bring eight performances of plays written by contemporary authors to Bratislava from May 17 to 19, displaying the talents of actors from the USA, Great Britain, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia.
"The hottest picks are the Americans and British. But the most shocking play is performed by the Hungarians. It's not suitable for anyone below the age of 18," said Peter Bednár, a member of the Bratislava English theatre union BELTS', organisers of the festival.
While foreign actors will perform plays by English authors, the Slovak translated play "From a Distance" features Blaho Uhlár and Lucia Piussi, both playwrights and actors, and "Bon Voyage, Destiny!" introduces a play in English from Slovak writer Ivan Lacko.
"Destiny" is an uncaptained boat carrying seven people to an unknown destination. "I wanted to express the situation when we behave as someone other than our normal selves to reach our goals. Why do we pretend it's still us, when it's already someone else?" said Lacko.
Other performances include an American play "And David Danced" by J. P. Evans, a tale of a man coping with a fatal disease. The British performances are of two plays by Harold Pinter. "A Kind of Alaska" deals with a girl who comes out of a 29-year slumber. "Silence" explores the idea of three people living in one and three different worlds.
The Hungarians perform the spicy and rough but also gracious and sensitive play "Closer" by Patrick Marber, and the Polish perform Willy Russell's "Educating Rita", which captures the relationship between an alcoholic professor and a hairdresser. The third Slovak performance, "Turning Point", by Derek Sellen examines problems in today's world.
Tickets: 50 Sk. Stoka theatre on Pribinova 1. Tel: 5292 4463 or 5292 4470.
Performance Schedule
May 17
18:00From a Distance (Slovakia)
20:00Bon Voyage, Destiny! (Slovakia)
May 18
18:00Educating Rita (Poland)
20:30And David Danced (USA)
May 19
14:00Turning Point (Slovakia)
16:00Closer (Hungary)
20:00A Kind of Alaska; Silence (Great Britain)
By Zuzana Habšudová
