THE OPPERMANNS

TRANSLATION Valter Feldstein
DRAMATISATION Barbora Hančilová, Ondřej Novotný
DIRECTION Tereza Říhová 
DRAMATURGY Lenka Havlíková 
DRAMATURGICAL COOPERATION Ondřej Novotný, Barbora Hančilová 
SCENIC DESIGN David Janošek, Jana Hauskrechtová 
COSTUMES Jana Hauskrechtová
MUSIC Sebastian Lang
MOVEMENT COOPERATION Ondřej Jiráček, Jan Bárta
POSTER Terezie Chlíbcová
PHOTOS Patrik Borecký
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Marek Linhart
SCENIC DESIGN AND COSTUMES ASSISTANT Josef Čihák
STARRING Jan Bárta, Jan Grundman, Vojtěch Hrabák, Hynek Chmelař, Jan Jankovský, Ondřej Jiráček, Sára Märc, Antonie Rašilovová, Václav Marhold, Lucie Roznětínská, Matěj Šíma

THE PERFORMANCE IS 130 MINUTES LONG (including the interval)
PREMIERE 9. 4. 2022

Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and ‘No’ mean ‘No.’
(Gospel of Matthew)

We’re in 1933. Germany is being destroyed by the strict sanctions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles and war reparations. Poverty and humiliation eventually cause a world-wide tragedy. Adolf Hitler becomes the chancellor of Germany, the destruction of the parliamentary system of the Weimar Republic begins. The Reichstag is set on fire. Consequently, a decree, that restricts the freedom of assembly, abolishes the secrecy of correspondence, allows house searches without a warrant and confiscation of property, is issued. The first concentration camps are founded.

In his book, Lion Feuchtwanger focuses on the life of the Jewish family of the Oppermanns. Every family member perceives the rapidly changing situation in a different way. As spectators, we can see how the characters try to navigate the complicated situation, how they don’t understand the abrupt barbarisation of society, and how foolish the appeals to leave the country seem to them.

“I don’t see why we should suddenly piss ourselves with fear. What happened? A popular idiot got a representative function. What are you afraid of? Do you think they will forbid our customers to buy from us? Do you think our shops will be closed? Do you think our capital will be confiscated because we are Jews? There will be no pogroms in Germany. It’s over. For more than 100 years. 114 years, to be precise. I’m not going to panic like you,” says the intellectual Gustav Oppermann.

The main theme of the book is the question: what should one do in a limit situation? When and how should one fight for freedom? What should one die for? Which compromises can be made and which cannot? Which limits cannot be crossed?

In 1933, Lion Feuchtwanger wrote the second part of the Waiting Part Trilogy. The process of writing was very fast since he wanted to depict the true face of the rise of Nazism. Soon after that, his books were burned in Germany. A year later, he emigrated and continued to fight Nazism with powerful words.

The Theatre X10 produced Success, the first part of the Trilogy, in October 2021. In 2023, the final part called Exile will be mounted. The planned staging of the entire Trilogy in one day will be the culmination of several years of work, crowning the ten years of existence of the Theatre X10. By this ambitious project, the Theatre X10 proves that it is possible to create great drama with a distinctive concept and interpretation and strong social subtext within the independent theatre sector.