Sonets (Divadlo DRAK & Krutý krtek)

A unique production featuring one actor, one mannequin, and one classroom.
 
This theatrical one-man show presents a modern interpretation of Shakespeare’s love poetry to high school students, performing directly in their classrooms. The production presents 400-year-old poems in a theatrical form that emphasizes the timelessness of the enchantment of romantic love; it finds contemporary parallels in the Sonnets with the search for and discovery of one’s own identity, and brings William Shakespeare’s work down to earth through a dialogue between a single actor and a puppet
mannequin.
 
The Sonnets engage in a dialogue with the younger generation in situations that are familiar to them. They speak of physical intimacy and sexuality, of the social expectations of those around them, of the writer’s identity, and of the search for the object of romantic desire. The production demonstrates that poetry written four centuries ago addresses current issues in the love lives of adolescents, and when viewed through today’s eyes, it can be far more than just required reading.
 

The living actor’s partner in dialogue is a mannequin, a life-size figure of the kind we see in fashion store windows. Through non-illusory animation and manipulation, the inanimate object becomes the object of romantic desire, the recipient of unrequited love, but also an artistic medium in the broader sense—ranging from a school aid serving academic interpretation to a plastic, disassemblable, single-use body. A collage of animation and acting styles creates a colorful mosaic that addresses one of the topics on the high school graduation exam for teenage audiences: Shakespeare’s Sonnets.

The production was created as a co-production between Divadlo Drak and the socially engaged theater company Krutý krtek. The latter aims to connect audiences with themes they themselves grapple with—themes that surround them and relate to their present or recent past. Krutý krtek also brings non-traditional experiences to those who lack the time or inclination to visit a brick-and-mortar theater. That is why it travels to audiences throughout the Czech Republic.

Program duration: 70 min
Recommended age: 15–20 years
Price: 190 CZK per student
Capacity: one class (max. 30 students)

This project is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the State Fund for Culture, and the Artist’s Life Foundation. Thank you!