Ako sa (ne)dělá Stodola? (k inscenáciám dvoch hier Ivana Stodolu)
How (not) to do Stodola? On staging of two plays by Ivan Stodola

Summary/Abstract: The dramatics of Ivan Stodola shaped and formed Slovak professional theatre. His texts provided one of the key dramaturgical bases in the process of formation of contemporary Slovak drama staging and he was actually the first to write plays systematically in the period of early professionalization of Slovak theatre. On the Czech stages, the situation was different. Humble staging tradition and not always successful interpretations indicate differences not only in dramaturgical issues but also in the issues of different tastes of spectators but, ultimately, significant differences between two independent theatre cultures. Two of Stodola’s plays were quite a success on the Czech stages; Tea at Mr. Senator’s and Jožko Púčik and his career. Both plays have attracted attention until recently –Tea at Mr. Senator was premiered at the Estates Theatre in Prague on 18th March 2010 (Czech premiere was at Švanda Theatre in Prague in 1934). Dramaturgical selection of this play was to bring the audience a lighter and witty comedy that would point to a parallel with the current state of the society and send the actual message before the upcoming elections. On the 15th April 2010, Slovak section of the Prague Theatre in Dlouhá Street performed a stage reading of the play Jožko Púčik and his career. The young director Brano Holiček (coincidentally great-grandnephew of Ivan Stodola) strongly adapted the text because he realized that the text itself without any major modification and interpretation would be just boring replay. The directorial and-dramaturgical input is essential;“ a satire on false humanism“ was staged as the theatre within the theatre. The author of this study analyzes both productions and notes that efforts that aimed to bring new life into the Stodola’s satire have remained unfulfilled.

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