Video of the talk

Marek Kurkiewicz – Founder and director of Teatr 3.5 in Dzierzgoń, cultural and social activist

An informal Czech-Polish discussion took place after the performance. The debate combined the perspectives of independent theatre artists, analytical and political insights from moderator Marek Kurkiewicz, and socio-historical reflections from Polish participants.

The Production Putin’s Skiing

Representatives of Theatre Líšeň (Divadlo Líšeň) introduced the 17-year history of the production Putin’s Skiing, which was created based on the writings of the murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. A noticeable shift occurred in audience reactions over time: while the play initially met with misunderstanding and detachment in the Czech Republic, public reception transformed after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, and with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it became a direct reflection of reality.

The Theatre Líšeň team explained their creative approach and working methods—the ensemble has no permanent venue and instead tours festivals and cultural centres, performing both in the Czech Republic and abroad. The military tent in which Putin’s Skiing is performed is an integral part of the show’s artistic concept. The uncomfortable, cramped, and intense space of the tent, accommodating up to 100 viewers, serves as an intentional set design element that erases the distance between actors and the audience, simulating an atmosphere of pressure and oppression.

Russian Power Structure and Collective Mentality

A significant portion of the debate was dedicated to reflections on the Russian regime and its population. In their contributions, the Polish audience members applied a largely collective perspective to Russian society. They do not view Russian inaction or support for the regime as a mere temporary surrender to manipulation, but as the result of a deeply rooted historical mentality.

They trace the authoritarian system back through a long historical arc—from the legacy of the Golden Horde, through Tsarist autocracy and the Soviet era, to today’s KGB/FSB structures. In this environment, the population has been raised for generations to be obedient, to fear authority, and to feel that the individual has no value. The discussion also addressed the informal inner workings of security forces, which operate on principles of extortion and the absolute subordination of lower ranks to higher ones.

Moderator Marek Kurkiewicz expanded this into an analytical view on the nature of authoritarian power. He emphasized that the Russian regime operates through sophisticated security structures. According to him, an authoritarian ruler behaves like a tyrant—retreating only in the face of real force and immediately exploiting any attempt at compromise or perceived weakness from the West to exert further pressure. There was also criticism of long-standing Western naivety, which turned a blind eye to warning signs—such as the war in Chechnya or the murders of opposition critics—in exchange for cheap energy resources.

Disinformation, Exploitation of History, and the Volhynia Issue

The Polish speakers discussed the current state of public opinion in Poland and the impacts of hybrid warfare in detail. They contrasted the immediate wave of solidarity toward Ukrainian refugees in 2022 with the gradually emerging fatigue, economic tension, and rise in anti-Ukrainian rhetoric.

The issue of the Volhynian massacre entered the debate as a specific example of exploited historical trauma. The Polish participants stressed that they view the historical grievance as real. Today, however, it is actively brought up by pro-Russian disinformation channels and troll networks on social media. The goal of these manipulations is to instill a sense of grievance in Poles and weaken their willingness to help Ukraine by asking why they should support a nation that has not come to terms with its own history. At the same time, it was noted that average Ukrainians—especially those from eastern regions—have very little knowledge about the events in Volhynia, which further deepens mutual misunderstandings.

Participants also pointed out that Russian intelligence services often operate abroad indirectly, using local actors, corrupt networks, or social media to incite targeted provocations and confusion.

The Role of Culture in Times of Crisis

In closing, the discussion returned to the purpose of political and socially engaged art. According to the participants, theatre should not deliver political lectures or give in to superficial emotions. Its role is to facilitate direct human connection, shake society out of indifference, resist cynicism, and foster critical thinking at a time when public debate is under constant pressure from manipulation.

Video of the discussion

Discussion Overview:

Following the performance of Crippletrek at the Wioska Teatralna – Dialogues of Worlds international festival in Węgajty, Poland (organized by Teatr Węgajty), a post-show Q&A took place with the audience. The discussion was led by prominent Polish theatre researcher Magdalena Hasiuk from the Polish Academy of Sciences, who specializes long-term in socially engaged, community, and participatory theatre. The debate provided an insider look into the independent work of Divadlo Líšeň, addressing its specific dramaturgy, creative methods, visual language, and social impact.

The Wioska Teatralna festival, hosted by Teatr Węgajty, is a respected international showcase focused on fostering dialogue between different cultures, communities, and life experiences.

1. Profile and Dramaturgical Focus of Divadlo Líšeň

Divadlo Líšeň has been active on the independent scene for nearly thirty years. It was born out of a desire to create freely outside the established structures of traditional institutional state theatres. The group’s work follows two main creative lines: poetic performances on one hand, and engaged political productions addressing urgent contemporary topics on the other.

2. Creative Methods and Dramaturgical Specifics

A fundamental feature of the group’s work is an inverted creative process compared to standard theatre practice. While most theatres typically select a finished text or form and then look for meaning and content, Divadlo Líšeň starts from an internal drive and the need to express a specific human or social issue.

Themes develop through a long-term maturation process based on real stories, newspaper articles, documentaries, and testimonies from everyday life. Thorough research and work with source materials play an equally vital role in developing the script as improvisation during rehearsals.

3. Visual and Stage Elements: Masks, Puppets, and Props

The visual component—working with puppets, masks, and objects—plays a key role in the group’s productions. The artistic evolution of the visual elements for Crippletrek shifted from aesthetically perfect masks toward a rougher, more raw style. A major inspiration was the German theatre Westflügel, which explores working with discarded objects and trash. This approach allowed the creation of masks and puppets that are more direct in their expression.

Strong emphasis is also placed on the authenticity of the setting and objects. The scenography features real historical and utilitarian items, such as an adjustable crib from an infant care institution or a military tent. Searching for props in army surplus stores and flea markets led to humorous moments, including instances where sellers offered fully functional heavy military vehicles (such as tanks) at a discount alongside the tents.

4. Socio-Political Dimension and the Production “Putin is Skiing”

A major topic of the discussion was the play Putin is Skiing, created over 17 years ago based on the book and articles by the murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

The production captures Vladimir Putin’s rise to power and the suppression of human rights. Public perception of the play has evolved significantly over time:

After its premiere, the response was lukewarm, as people did not understand the motivation behind creating such a play and viewed Putin as a standard European politician. Following the events in Crimea and the 2022 invasion, interest in the performance skyrocketed, making it highly requested. The theatre donates the proceeds from these performances to humanitarian aid for Ukraine on an ongoing basis.

5. Audience Perception, Ethical Questions, and Community Impact

The debate addressed how audiences respond to heavy and dark themes such as severe illness, charlatanism, or political oppression. Reception is highly individual: some audience members find relief and perspective in the productions, while others (such as the older generation) perceive the message as purely tragic and deeply serious. On a political level, the discussion emphasized the rejection of collective guilt toward the Russian nation and the need to highlight specific individuals who sacrificed their lives fighting for the truth.

Beyond the stage, the impact of their work shows in civic activism in Brno-Líšeň, where the group previously managed to save the local community center from demolition, protect a garden with old linden trees from urban development, and revive traditional folk festivals (Carnival).

We have visited Hungary repeatedly in recent years, and our socially engaged productions have always resonated strongly there. Unfortunately, this is also because the genre faces little competition as a result of the long-term suppression of independent culture. This time, however, we were looking forward to a new Hungary, freed from sixteen years of Orbán’s rule. That period represented profound destruction for democracy and civil society. We spoke openly about this several times during the post-show discussions as well.

This time we brought the production CRIPPLETREK and performed it, symbolically, in the Lázár Hall (Ervin Lázár Hall). After the performance, Tímea Dénes, head of the Pálos Károly Social and Children’s Centre, and Melinda Bede, a psychology PhD student at ELTE University, joined the discussion. During the debate, focused on social issues, we were once again convinced that our concept works fully: stories and situations from the performance were repeatedly referenced by both experts and inspired a broader discussion about an area in desperate condition and long ignored by politicians. We spoke about problems that are becoming increasingly urgent not only in Hungary — ageing populations, the lack of support for dependent elderly people and their families, who are often pushed into poverty through caregiving, dying and death — topics that society still avoids discussing openly.

We would like to thank Milada Boráros for interpreting the discussion and for tirelessly supporting us, together with her family, during all our visits to Hungary.

We then headed to Rome, filling the two-day drive with a road office and meetings about a new accounting programme. It was our first time performing in Rome. Cooperation with Programma Integra (represented above all by the excellent organisers Amalia Romano and Laura Biancon) resulted not only in successful presentations of our two productions. The Italian partners of the Courage to Know project also succeeded in connecting the themes of our performances with discussions involving remarkable people from both the human rights and theatre worlds.

Both perspectives came together in the person of Cecilia Carponi, who joined the discussion after CRIPPLETREK. This lecturer at Sapienza University and researcher in theatre history is also an activist and volunteer working in the unique space Spin Time Labs. In this seven-storey former office building, now home to around four hundred people of different nationalities, cultural, social and educational activities as well as community events take place. In the theatre hall located in the basement of this enormous squat, we performed CRIPPLETREK and then spoke about supporting poor people, refugees and homeless people in the heart of Rome.

After BLOOD HYGIENE, presented the following day at Teatro Furio Camillo, the audience discussion featured Giovanna Cavallo, a lawyer from the Association for Legal Studies on Migration. The theme of dehumanisation explored in the production opened a debate on migration and refugees, issues that resonate in Italy far more strongly than in the Czech Republic. We also spoke about how public interest and the tireless efforts of activists can intervene in human destinies and make possible what would otherwise seem impossible — for example helping students from Gaza reach schools in Italy.

We are grateful that, thanks to the support of the EU and the Czech Ministry of Culture, we are able to overcome distances of thousands of kilometres. Our performances lose none of their urgency west of our borders. On the contrary, Italian audiences appreciated both the metaphorical language of the productions and the themes they opened so powerfully.

And then just one final toast before the journey home: Glory to Ukraine, Free Palestine!

Pavla Dombrovská, Kateřina Slámová Bartošová

Post-show discussion – summary

Speakers:
Tímea Dénes
Head of the Pálos Károly Social and Children’s Centre

Melinda Bede
PhD student in psychology at ELTE University. Her research focuses on the relationship between psychological well-being and cognitive functioning in older adults and their social environment, especially social support, inclusion, and loneliness.

Context and starting points of the discussion

The Theatre Líšeň performance Kriplštreka served as an impulse to open topics that are often suppressed both in Hungarian and Czech society. The production was based on documentary sources and the personal experiences of the creators, aiming to embody problems that society tends to refuse to address.

Psychological aspects of ageing and dying

Psychologist Melinda Bede and social worker Tímea Dénes discussed several key inner states experienced by elderly people:

Integrity of the self vs. despair:
According to Erik Erikson’s theory, the main task of old age is to achieve “ego integrity” — accepting one’s life as a whole, including both successes and failures. If this process fails and a person sees only wasted opportunities without the possibility of repair, they may fall into deep despair.

Fear of becoming a burden:
Older people are often less afraid of death itself than of the phase preceding it — the period when they become dependent on others and feel they are “a burden” to their family. This fear is strengthened by communication barriers within close relationships.

The paradox of silence:
Families often avoid conversations about death because of their own fear and anxiety, which leaves elderly people isolated in their concerns. When a senior begins to speak about the end of life, relatives frequently respond with an awkward smile and quickly close the topic, even though sharing these thoughts could bring relief.

Social isolation and economic reality

The discussion also addressed the very concrete living conditions of elderly people in Hungary:

Isolation vs. loneliness:
There is an important difference between these concepts. Isolation is a physical condition (for example, an immobile person living on the fourth floor without an elevator), whereas loneliness is a subjective feeling that can exist even within a family if meaningful communication is missing.

The role of outreach services:
For many isolated people, a meal delivery worker or caregiver may be their only social contact during the entire day. Even a short conversation and a smile can have a crucial impact on mental well-being.

Economic pressure:
The costs of dignified institutional elderly care are extremely high (amounts exceeding 350,000 HUF per month — approximately 23,000 CZK — were mentioned during the discussion). For seniors living alone, it is often impossible to cover rent and utilities from a single pension, leading to severe existential anxiety.

Paths toward solutions and active ageing

Despite the difficult themes, the participants also offered positive perspectives:

Humour as a tool:
Sensitive use of dark humour can release tension and make it possible to speak about taboo subjects with greater openness and distance.

Activation programmes:
In Szombathely, programmes such as “Active Ageing” enable seniors to tutor children, sing in choirs, or organise exhibitions of their own work. These activities restore a sense of usefulness and social recognition.

Intergenerational solidarity:
It is necessary to change society’s perspective and see old age not merely as a period of loss, but as a stage of life in which people can still remain active and valuable members of the community.

Critical observation:
The speakers agreed that until society becomes capable of speaking openly about death without fear and anxiety, elderly people will continue to suffer from isolation — even within the circle of their closest relatives.

Report from Rome
… It was our first time performing in Rome. Cooperation with Programma Integra (represented above all by the excellent organisers Amalia Romano and Laura Biancon) resulted not only in successful presentations of our two productions. The Italian partners of the Courage to Know project also succeeded in connecting the themes of our performances with discussions involving remarkable people from both the human rights and theatre worlds.

Both perspectives came together in the person of Cecilia Carponi, who joined the discussion after CRIPPLETREK. This lecturer at Sapienza University and researcher in theatre history is also an activist and volunteer working in the unique space Spin Time Labs. In this seven-storey former office building, now home to around four hundred people of different nationalities, cultural, social and educational activities as well as community events take place. In the theatre hall located in the basement of this enormous squat, we performed CRIPPLETREK and then spoke about supporting poor people, refugees and homeless people in the heart of Rome….  full report

Current Migration Policy and Europe’s Moral Crisis

Video Recording of the Discussion

Discussion Summary

Participants:

Giovanna Cavallo – lawyer at the Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration (ASGI)

Pavla Dombrovská – author of the performance Blood Hygiene, Divadlo Líšeň

Context and Background: Theatre as a Mirror of Extremism

The opening part of the discussion focused on the origins and motivation behind Blood Hygiene, a performance that Divadlo Líšeň has been presenting for the past fifteen years. Its author, playwright, and director, Pavla Dombrovská, explained that the production was developed through extensive research of documentary materials from the Holocaust period, including direct quotations from Mein Kampf and documents presented during the Nuremberg Trials.

The key impulse for connecting history with the present, however, came from the discovery of the Czech neo-Nazi website White Media and contemporary online discussions. It became evident that the rhetoric and patterns of argument used by present-day far-right extremists, racists, and even some mainstream politicians closely resemble, both structurally and substantively, the language employed by Nazi leaders in the 1930s and 1940s. The performance therefore serves as a warning about the persistence of fascist tendencies and their gradual re-emergence in public discourse.

The Hierarchisation of Human Life and the Mechanism of Collective Guilt

Dombrovská highlighted a troubling contemporary phenomenon: the implicit hierarchy of human value. Society increasingly displays selective empathy—while the deaths of people from certain social or ethnic groups are publicly recognised as tragedies, the mass deaths of others, such as migrants at Europe’s external borders, often remain marginalised and largely invisible.

Drawing on testimonies from survivors of Auschwitz and Terezín, including former chairman of the Jewish Community of Brno, Pavel Fried, Dombrovská recalled an important historical lesson: totalitarian systems of persecution and mass murder are rarely maintained primarily by monstrous individuals. More often, they depend on ordinary people performing routine tasks—clerks compiling lists, railway workers operating trains, and officials carrying out administrative duties. For this reason, every individual must critically examine whether seemingly ordinary, conformist actions contribute to sustaining contemporary systems of discrimination. At the same time, she rejected the principle of collective guilt, arguing that responsibility for aggression and oppression always lies with specific political leaders who manipulate public opinion.

European Migration Policy: Institutionalised “Legal Horrors”

Giovanna Cavallo offered a sharp critique of the European Union’s current institutional approach to migration. In her view, Europe is systematically betraying its own humanistic values and founding principles under the pretext of security. She described recent legislation and government decrees that bypass normal parliamentary debate as “legal horrors.”

According to Cavallo, the primary objective of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum is to establish a global architecture of control, isolation, and selection of human beings, based on three pillars:

Externalisation of migration: transferring responsibility for refugees to third countries outside the EU, following the model of earlier agreements such as the EU–Turkey deal.

Border filtering: arbitrarily determining who is “deserving” or “undeserving” of international protection, often based on broad assumptions about so-called “safe countries.”

Internal borders: creating administrative barriers within European states that effectively restrict access to fundamental human rights for people on the move.

Cavallo supported her argument with statistical data. According to United Nations estimates, more than 300 million people worldwide are currently on the move due to war, climate change, or economic hardship. Only around 10 percent of this global mobility is directed towards Europe. The current situation, she argued, is therefore not an objective “migration crisis” but rather a politically constructed crisis in which human beings are transformed into instruments of political struggle and objects of administrative detention. As an extreme example of human suffering and degradation, she referred to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

The Failure of Specific Political Projects: The Albanian Centres

The discussion also examined the controversial Italian project of migration centres in Albania. Cavallo pointed to the inefficiency and contradictions of this scheme. Approximately eighty people were transferred to the centres primarily to allow the government to demonstrate that it was taking action.

Legal practice within the centres is based on a presumption of suspicion: migrants arriving from countries classified as “safe” are automatically treated as potential fraudsters attempting to exploit the system and may be deprived of their liberty. This approach has also been criticised by many Albanians, who retain vivid memories of their own mass emigration during the 1990s, including the detention of Albanian refugees in Bari. For this reason, many oppose the establishment of modern detention facilities on Albanian territory.

The Power of Civil Society: The Example of Yalla Study

Despite the bleak picture of institutional migration policy, the discussion concluded on a more hopeful note, emphasising the transformative power of solidarity and grassroots engagement. Giovanna Cavallo illustrated how civil society can “throw a grain of sand into the machinery of the system” through the successful Yalla Study initiative.

This informal network of around seventy Italian organisations and volunteers managed to establish contact with students living in the bombarded Gaza Strip. Working remotely, volunteers collected documentation, arranged translations, secured academic scholarships at Italian universities, and submitted official visa applications. Their efforts ultimately compelled the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to act.

As a result, 150 students from Gaza have been able to travel legally and safely to Italy to continue their studies. Shortly before the discussion took place, visas were approved for an additional 21 students whose applications had previously been rejected.

Conclusions and Recommendations

The discussion concluded with a shared consensus on practical ways in which civil society and individuals can resist the dehumanisation embedded in contemporary migration policies:

• Changing the narrative: Political language that reduces human beings to security threats or statistical figures must be challenged. Public discourse should restore individual stories, human dignity, and personal experiences.
• Active citizenship and political accountability: Participation in democratic processes and scrutiny of elected representatives remain essential, particularly in assessing whether political actions comply with international law.
• Nonconformity and vigilance: Individuals should not abandon their moral judgment or blindly comply with unjust policies under the excuse of “just doing their job.”
• The provocation of art: Engaged artistic work, such as that created by Divadlo Líšeň, plays an irreplaceable role in disrupting public complacency, encouraging self-reflection, and helping to dismantle both physical and moral barriers between people.

After the performance Crippletrek, the creators of the production, Pavla Dombrovská and Luděk Vémola, took part in a discussion with the audience—first within a debate moderated by Tamás Schauermann, and later in an informal, spontaneous conversation with the audience about both the themes of the performance and its form.

The performance was sold out well in advance, and the atmosphere of the entire event was captured by festival photographer Antal Szentendrei.

The performance was realized with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.

This year, her book Kde líšky dávajú dobrú noc: kresťanský nacionalizmus a holocaust na Slovensku (Where the Foxes Say Good Night: Christian Nationalism and the Holocaust in Slovakia) was published.

The discussion took place at the Cvernovka Library and was moderated by Miroslav Tóda.

The performance Blood Hygiene was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.

The post Blood Hygiene and discossion with Hana Kubátová first appeared on Lisen Theatre.]]> https://www.theatrelisen.com/blood-hygiene-and-discussion-with-pavla-dombrovska/ Thu, 08 Jan 2026 11:14:16 +0000 https://www.divadlolisen.cz/?p=11299 After the performance Blood Hygiene, director Pavla Dombrovská took part in a discussion with students. The performance was realized with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.