Black Black Woods

The relationship between father and son is an existential and fundamental relationship in a man’s life. The archetype of father versus son and an authentic relationship of a father – actor Rostislav Novák Sr. – and his son – equally actor and principal of the Cirk la Putyka collective, Rostislav Novák Jr. – form the core of the several hour-long epic Black Black Woods. The autobiographical story was adapted by director Jozef Furček and choreographer Linda Kapetanea of Rootlessroot Company, and forged into a contemplative performance with a mythological atmosphere. (Black Black Woods is the third piece in a theatrical trilogy, following Family and Roots, which centre on familial and workplace relationships. Family Roots in Black Black Woods would be an apt name for the trilogy as a whole.)

By means of physical theatre, Black Black Woods portrays the intricate and unpredictable nature of love, hate, strife and reconciliation, life and death between parent and child. The creators frame the Novák family story by quotations from the Finnish national epic Kalevala, a family saga about the mythical Kalevala and his issue. The connection with Kalevala is no coincidence.

The Novák family comes from a lineage of well-known Czech puppeteers by the name of Kopecký, and Rosťa Novák Jr. is thus their direct successor. Clear reference is also made to the so-called ‘fratricidal’ Peloponnesian War. This philosophical/physical epic is literally a meditation, in the course of which the life story of a human being, his birth and coming of age, unfolds minimally but actively. The son loves, hates and admires his father, he defies him, imitates him and reproaches him. The train of events proceeds slowly, but nevertheless as if in real time, until the moment we realise that the son has matured and the father has grown old. Suddenly, time runs out. The final 80 minutes are devoted to action and the deed. The door of the hall is closed and the audience can no longer move around freely. Everything fashioned and built is torn down, ridiculed – the brick foundations give way, the throne slants and the white surface is covered in writing. Then comes sharp conflict that ends in exhaustion and reconciliation.

The dynamic, virile and most importantly live musical accompaniment of Vassilis Mantzoukis infuses both actors with energy. The degree of their physical engagement becomes magnetic for the audience, who have until then observed the course of time and of the life of two individuals, but who, thanks to the tremendous force of the performance of both Rosťa Novák Sr. and Jr., are suddenly plunged into their naked and intimate world.
Dáša Čiripová

“Directors Jozef Fruček and Linda Kapetanea have completely given up on the audience and offer them long, routine images. Only with their help, however, can we really become attuned to the portrayed wave of family relationships that arise in entirely different temporal dimensions. …

The five hour-long experience inspires respect for the performance of both actors, but also for the ability to serve the audience an uncompromising yet infinitely attractive theatre piece.”
Tomáš Štástka: In black woods, Rosťa Novák builds his father a throne of clay, kultura.iDNES.cz, 5. 11. 2016

“Ultimately, the piece stands on the force of the actors’ performance, which involves a high degree of physical and mental exertion for both protagonists. Over the course of nearly five hours, the process of the inception of the performance itself is brought to light, the transparent and open scenic composition clues the audience in on life’s turning points (child- hood, youth, placing one’s father on a pedestal, rebellion against him, madness, art, support).”
Barbora Čiháková: Cirk La Putyka’s family saga pushes the boundaries of theatrical language. Aktuálně.cz, 26. 9. 2016