UKRAINIAN FAIRY TALES

ABOU THE PLAY

Three Ukrainian folk tales for audiences of 6 years and older.

How was Mole born? How will the young Tsarevich defeat the evil Snake? And will the Bush rock the Sparrow? Playful storytelling with puppets which are created during the performance from military equipment and some of the army gear left behind by Russia in Ukraine.

By thematizing different cultures, customs and stories in a comprehensible and universal form of fairy tales, Krutý krtek wants to sow the seeds of tolerance and understanding between the majority audience and those who are now a minority in our educational system. The production continues the programming line of puppet fairy tales for Czech kindergartens and schools. After Roma (2018) and Vietnamese (2020) Fairy Tales, Krutý krtek focuses on Ukrainian fairy tales this time with a pair of Ukrainian-Czech actors.

Czech and Ukrainian with English subtitles.

• Length:50 min.
• Age category:6+
• Directed by:Karel Kratochvíl
• Dramaturgie:Zuzana Sikačová
• Music by:folk song
• Designed by:Tereza Vašíčková
• Premiere:16. 11. 2023
• Starring:Tetiana Ferniuk, Gustav Hašek

About the theatre:

Krutý krtek (Cruel Mole) is a socially useful theatre. We make connections between the audience and the issues that surround them and that relate to their present or their recent past. Another connection we strive to build is between unconventional experiences and those who are too busy or uninterested to go to a brick-and-mortar theatre. That's why we travel all over the country to reach our audiences.

Krutý krtek was founded in 2018 by Karel Kratochvíl, an actor and graduate of the Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. He sees social usefulness in the ability of theatre to connect viewers with each other through the power of a shared moment in the here and now. Working with him on individual performances are a number of theatre professionals with many years of experience in the field, mostly also graduates of the Academy of Performing Arts, whether they are dramaturgs, stage designers or producers and actors.

The dramaturgy of Krutý krtek rests on three pillars. Puppet productions not only for children inspired by the cultures of national minorities in Czech schools and kindergartens (Roma Fairy Tales, Vietnamese Fairy Tales and Ukrainian Fairy Tales), but also a special puppet one-man show for seniors called The Secret Diary. The second pillar of the Krutý krtek production are outdoor adventure games/walks. The work of Krutý krtek is complemented with one-off performances that respond to current issues.