Líšeň Theatre at the Avignon Off Festival
Líšeň Theatre perform Tied Down by GrassWhat a joy to see Czech puppet and shadow theatre in Avignon! The performance”Tied Down by Grass” is about a monk who was robbed of his clothes by bandits and tied to the ground with grass… What is amazing about “Tied Down by Grass” is the manipulation of objects made from the simplest things, offering unlimited possibilities for sound, light, and imagery.
The performance is accessible to everyone. Children are not afraid in the dark and follow the twists of Buddhist wisdom in their own way, beautifully conveyed by the voices of Pavla Dombrovská and Luděk Vémola. The play also touches on truth and love.
Come and see a different horizon at the La Luna theatre!
…The title of this puppet and object play is somewhat mysterious, because how can one be tied by grass? Could it perhaps imply a bit of magic, since it is also a show for children aged 5 and up?
This story was chosen from the book by Henry Brunel, The Most Beautiful Zen Stories (Calmann-Lévy edition), and tells the tale of a monk who was stripped of everything and bound in a deep forest by bandits using grass.
Traditional Zen stories often speak of respect for the lives of animals as well as humans, and Tied Down by Grass is no exception.
I won’t tell you the whole story here, that would be a shame, and I’d rather you discover it for yourself.
You will also discover a puppet theater of Czech origin, coming from Brno, with puppets made from metal wires and pieces of colored plastic, shadow theater, one puppeteer-actress, and a musician with a refurbished double bass and other instruments.
During the communist era, animated films and puppet theater from what was then Czechoslovakia were very rich in their forms of expression. And very often, the means of expression allowed artists and creators to circumvent censorship and address topics that ordinary citizens were not allowed to talk about or even think about at that time.
Even today, puppet theater artists use these “subterfuges” to convey messages to their audience. Censorship no longer exists, but sometimes, to understand a message, because this Zen story has a message, it is necessary to be subtle.
Líšeň Theater succeeds perfectly in this, and it is a real pleasure to see and listen to this story.
Marionnettes tchèques en France
Líšeň Theatre is the only Czech ensemble at this year’s edition of one of the biggest and most famous theatre festivals in the world!
…For us, theatre is a means of understanding the world and also a way to cope with it. That is why part of our dramaturgy includes political, evocative plays. Creating and presenting these is very challenging. Therefore, we also need to ensure that despite all the horrors, there still exists a world where things are in order and make sense. And this is something theatre can also achieve. The play “Bound by Grass” is exactly that.
We draw from stories that have survived centuries and millennia, and although they resonate differently in each era, they always heal and bring comfort, a relief from the chaos of the world. From these stories, we derive the strength for further creation and continued life. And we feel the need to offer them to our audience. We tell them in a way that appeals to both adults and children.
In the grand, bustling “theatrical fireworks” of Avignon, we bring a moment of calm, a shared meditation on the simplest details of human existence, an ancient story about a naked monk bound by grass. A play about life, death, and tiny insects. Told with delicate puppets and gentle humor.
Pavla Dombrovská, director, author and actress
