Večer slovenský a žiadny iný: Outcast a PiNKBUS
Outcast
Uncompromising clashes of ideas in physical poetry. The production by Janek Borodáč’s theater company Slzy—Outcast—is based on Stefan Zweig’s memoir *The World of Yesterday*, in which the author paints a picture of old Europe and addresses the important theme of pacifism, a topic with which contemporary Europeans are also grappling. Actresses Gabriela Marcinková and Anna Jakab Rakovská create a diary of contemporary European women in the production through their personal stories, which intertwine with Zweig’s historical testimony. They explore themes such as generational continuity, clinical depression, coping with parenthood, judicial corruption in the wake of the loss of a loved one, reflections on emigration, and more.
Stefan Zweig’s autobiographical material captured in the book The World of Yesterday carries an important message for today’s world. As an Austrian, a Jew, a writer, a humanist, and a pacifist, Zweig found himself caught up in the turbulent upheavals of two world wars during his lifetime and bears witness to “barbarism with a conscious and systematic dogma of anti-humanism.”
“We consider it important to pay attention to his ideas and work, which identify the circumstances leading people to such a terrifying loss of human dignity and a transformation of morality. If a person or a nation does not remember its past, it loses its identity. This is precisely one of the goals of the theatrical adaptation and staging of Zweig’s message—to preserve his ideas in the most intense physical and textual stage form possible and bring them closer to the audience.”
In the production *Outcast*, we use LP records featuring authentic personal recordings by actress Anna Jakab Rakovská, made on a mobile voice recorder between 2021 and 2022, when she was suffering from clinical depression. Some of these recordings are played directly during the performance.
PiNKBUS: Slovak and No Other
PiNKBUS greets the forests and mountains—our greetings come from the bottom of our hearts! We are part of Slovak culture. WE ARE Slovak culture. Whether MADAM likes it or not. Let’s change traditions together!
It’s time for a “party,” because Slovak culture is uniquely Slovak and no other. At a time when, on the one hand, traditional values, the countryside, and folklore are promoted, and on the other, queer people and city dwellers, the nation is seeking common ground and striving for understanding between both camps.
And there’s nothing better than music! From the Tatras to the Danube, from Eugen Suchoň’s “Páslo dievča pávy” to Marika Gombitová.
1/5
Outcast
Authors: J. Rázusová et al., based on Stefan Zweig’s memoir *The World of Yesterday
Dramaturgs: Dáša Čiripová, Marek Turošík
Director: Júlia Rázusová
Set and Costume Design: Diana Strauszová
Music: Martin Husovský
Movement Collaboration: Andrej Petrovič
Lighting Design: Lukáš Katuščák
Production: Linda Durkáčová
Cast: Gabriela Marcinková, Anna Jakab Rakovská
PiNKBUS
Martin “Venice” Talaga
Ermin Fazlić and guests
An independent theater group in Slovakia based in Prešov since 2020, whose work builds on the legacy of the Prešov National Theater (2013–2021). The company’s name, a reference to the founder of Slovak professional theater, Janko Borodáč, sparks a dialogue between tradition and the progressive trends of contemporary global and Slovak theater.
The Slzy Janka Borodáča theater company creates a space for theatrical production in eastern Slovakia. In its work, it focuses on deepening the collaboration between directors and actors, which stimulates the social stance of the creators and explores new perspectives in theater production. It addresses themes of nationalism, radicalism, populism, ethical and moral dilemmas, and the crisis of the contemporary family.
It is a platform that primarily supports queer artists and brings a new wave of creativity to the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It builds on the tradition of Prague cabarets and variety shows, spicing it up with a dose of the rising trend—drag queens. The creators are responding to the strong global rise of drag culture and bringing it into the Czech and Slovak context. Interest in this type of art and performance has grown immensely and has spread beyond the LGBT community. It opens up a discussion on the most pressing issues in today’s society, such as sexuality, nudity, freedom, physicality, and the cult of beauty. The creators are increasingly convinced of the need to build a platform for the queer art scene. Creating a safe space that raises awareness and brings people together is more important than ever before.
1. Zuzana Timčíková - kød Magazine
“Outcast is, in the end, a remarkable theatrical achievement that subtly intertwines Stefan Zweig’s timeless ideas with the pressing questions of today’s social landscape and effectively underscores the cyclical nature of history. The production is not only a reflection on historical and contemporary crises, but also an appeal to the values of humanism, which are under threat in a world of chaos and misinformation.”
2. Karol Mišovic - Mloki.sk
“The final scene of the production does not end with a happy ending, but at least hints at hope, a light at the end of the tunnel.. Zweig didn’t believe in it, but Anna Jakab Rakovská, in her words about the spontaneous dance she gradually begins to embrace on stage, hopes for it. The production thus offers the prospect that all may not be lost yet, even though, given all these catastrophes—which often directly mirror those already experienced in history—it truly seems that way.”
3 Lea Valentová - Denník N
"Outcast is far from being superficial, forced propaganda; it doesn’t need to explain anything—it speaks for itself. It delves deep into the human soul and the never-ending cycle of social ills, and through its intensity, it leaves the viewer with a healthy sense of unease. With its sincerity, the work is a searing cry, a testimony from the past and a warning about the future.”
4. Soňa Jánošová - SME
The memoir The World of Yesterday was published shortly after Zweig’s suicide. In them, Zweig describes, through his personal experiences as an artist, the transformation from the peaceful 19th century to the drastic upheavals of the 20th century. Director Júlia Rázusová places the life of this proud outcast in the hands of two women, unafraid to provoke and tackle taboo subjects. The production also features authentic recordings that Anna Jakab Rakovská made during her clinical depression. It is a painful, powerful, and courageous testimony. Gabriela Marcinková, in turn, opens up about her personal experience with the investigation into her grandmother’s death. These personal, even intimate, experiences of both actresses serve as a counterbalance to “grand” history and raise the question of what influences us more: fundamental political changes or our personal lives?