Marysha

A classic of Czech dramatic literature that calls for reinterpretation in every era. A national play, staged countless times—but where does the nation end and the play begin?

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Marysha is both a model of a late 19th-century village woman and a timeless embodiment of resistance. Yet she succumbs to the mechanisms of the society she lives in—even as she, willingly or not, helps to shape them. She becomes a victim of stubbornness, while stubbornly insisting on her own sacrifice. A heroine against her will—and, by divine will, a murderer.

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Is the obstinacy that drives Marysha inherited, or is it an expression of a strong personality? And the murder she commits this very morning—is it a logical outcome of circumstances, or a moral appeal to future generations of audiences and performers? Is it black? And is it white?

The production was named Production of the Year 2014 in the Divadelní noviny poll. Miloš Maršálek and Erika Stárková were nominated for the 2014 Alfréd Radok Awards (Best Actor and Best Actress).