Reaction to our event in Hungary
Reaction to the performance and discussion: / News portal ZAOL – Are they in the minority?
Translation of the article from the link above (original text in Hungarian)
“In post-performance discussions, we focus on urgent contemporary topics,” reads the website of Divadlo Líšeň. The Czech puppet theater, which also addresses the topic of the Holocaust, performed its production The Hygiene of Blood at the Griff Puppet Theater in Zalaegerszeg on the evening of March 4. After the performance, a discussion took place in which Griff’s director, István Szűcs, spoke with sociologist and writer Pál Závada and director Pavla Dombrovská.
The play, about the value of human life, was created based on the testimonies of Holocaust survivors, period documents, texts of Nazi leaders (Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, Rudolf Höss), works by Viktor E. Frankl and Anne Frank, as well as texts from contemporary neo-Nazi websites.
In a confined space lit by spotlights, the central element was a prepared construction made from a wheelbarrow frame, which transformed—sometimes representing a small interior, at other times a tribune, a dictator’s body, or a gas chamber. The puppeteers appeared only at the end of the unsettling production, when they put down the animal puppets from the opening scene (stork, tit, mouse) and themselves embodied these animals, which thus became eerily human and contemporary. These animals appear in Mein Kampf as symbols of racial purity (“Tit to tit, field mouse to field mouse, stork to stork”).
In the completely packed Griff theater auditorium, no one coughed this time—the audience watched the Czech puppeteers in absolute silence: at first, few believed anything bad would happen, then the whole world silently looked on at the Holocaust, afterwards promising “never again”—and today neo-Nazi ideologies are again gaining ground. The performance, which premiered in 2015, did bring unconventional puppet methods, but it certainly did not cheer anyone up. Least of all what was said during the subsequent discussion. Through the interpreting of puppeteer Szilárd Boráros, Griff director István Szűcs asked Pavla Dombrovská and Pál Závada whether we have truly overcome murderous ideologies. The unequivocal answer, “No,” pointed to the responsibility of each individual.
Holocaust today?
Not only the nations of Eastern Europe, but the whole continent is currently facing questions about the coexistence of different religions, ethnic groups, and nationalities. The pressure on Europe demands adequate responses primarily from political leaders, not from ordinary people—if such responses exist at all. During the discussion, Pál Závada tried to find optimistic scenarios, but it was not easy. The unification of completely different ways of life is a huge task that requires calmness, patience, and education—which, however, often weakens power structures. Seeking scapegoats is more convenient. Závada also warned that in the interest of self-benefit, any nation is capable of excluding other groups if it perceives them as a threat to its security—and all the more so if it is systematically encouraged to do so.
Pavla Dombrovská stated that neo-Nazi ideologies are present in the Czech Republic as well as in almost all neighboring countries. Her theater troupe fights this with its own means, feeling that it cannot remain silent.
The core message of the production comes from Viktor E. Frankl:
“There are only two races of people: the decent and the indecent. Decent people are in the minority, always have been, and always will be. Danger arises when a political system allows indecent people to gain power. No nation is protected from this. In this sense, every nation is potentially capable of the Holocaust.”
The performance was presented in Czech with Hungarian subtitles.
In 2023, Divadlo Líšeň participated in the World Puppetry Meeting as part of the 10th Theatre Olympics in Pécs.
The Brno-Líšeň district, from which the troupe takes its name, has been part of Brno since 1944. More than 26,000 people live there, and tractors of the Zetor brand are produced in a local factory.
Provocative theater in the Visegrad region
The Hygiene of Blood—a terrifying cabaret about methods of improving the human race. On stage, the testimonies of murderers and victims materialize through a series of metal puppets, iron scrap, and barbed wire.
The performance was directed by Pavla Dombrovská, with dramaturgical cooperation by Kateřina Slámová Bartošová; puppets and set design by Luděk Vémola and Iveta Kalousková; music by Tomáš Vtípil; lighting and projection design by Tomáš Tušer.
The project is co-financed by the governments of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia through the International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to promote sustainable regional cooperation concepts in Central Europe.
