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Oil Lamps – This psychological novel made famous by its film adaptation is one of the favourite titles of Czech theatre dramaturgs. This adaptation has been described by Josef Mlejnek as “incomparably more austere than Herz’s ‘art nouveau’ film of 1971, and less ‘lyrical’ than the production at the Divadlo Petra Bezruče, which premiered two years ago, directed by the current artistic head of the National Theatre Brno’s head of drama, Martin Františák. In both cases the directors were able to rely on excellent performances in both main roles; the difference is that Františák was aiming above all at a grounded, tragic story, while Glaser’s concept contains references to the tragic nature of the human lot in general.” The basic building blocks of Glaser’s production are a new stage adaptation by the experienced creative duo of Glaser and dramaturg Olga Šubrtová, a generous set, and the actors’ performances. “Glaser and Šubrtová, in their more intimate version of the story, have made the central heroes a merely unequal pair, and the main motif of the evening a fading woman’s fatal desire for a child. They do not tell the whole story, they do not reflect the initial and most extensive part of the book, ‘The lamps are shining and the table is being laid’, but they present the audience immediately with the central couple. It should be stressed that Glaser and Šubrtová’s adaptation does not give up on any of the more essential motifs of the book. For the first half of the evening, before everything breaks down into the fateful tragedy, we can admire the artful nimbleness of the stage and directorial handling. Everything is treated transparently, directly and conforms to the demands of today’s audience. This production tempo has a functional share in the resulting style, which as far as the interval makes surprising use of humour as important substance in the disastrous events,” Luboš Mareček writes.
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