HaDivadlo
Sláva Daubnerová's new play Twilight of Males is dedicated to all lovers of gangster films, weekend carpenters, husbands and fathers, ruthless tigers at workplace and in bed, but also to those who would like to escape from it all to deep woods. The director claims a newspaper article as the original inspiration for her and dramaturg Anna Saavedra. They learned that through synthetic estrogens contained in hormonal contraception – which enters drinking water by agency of women's urine – males of many species begin turning into females or hermaphrodites.
Written, directed by: Sláva Daubnerová Setdesign and costumes: Sláva Daubnerová Dramaturgy: Anna Saavedra Choreography: Emil Leeger Video: Jan Sebeš Cast: Cyril Drozda, Jan Grundman, Marián Chalány, Jan Lepšík, Jiří M. Valůšek Opening night: October 5, 2012 HaDivadlo, Brno, Czech Republic
Selected festivals: Pro-téza – festival of author’s theatre Bratislava 2013 Bratislava
“Restart – this is how HaDivadlo dubbed the opening of the new season. It commenced on October 5, 2012, with Slovak director and performer Sláva Daubnerová's original work Twilight of Males. Sociobiological and civilization influences, emancipation of women – and a whole slew of other factors including changes in traditional social roles, positions and relations between women and men lead to glum visions, reflecting upon whether “man as a defined biological species” still exists; whether some kind of males' twilight isn't taking place. Under the director's guidance, with dramaturgy by Anna Saavedra, the experimental theatre's collective approached this complex, social-psychological issue chiefly by means of visual performance.” Jaroslav Štepaník
“Slovak author Sláva Daubnerová's new Twilight of Males was a big success at its opening night on October 5 in Brno's HaDivadlo. A collaboration with dramaturg Anna Saavedra, the work is inspired by an article in the Respekt magazine, dealing with the changing rate of male to female fish in ponds, caused by contamination. The problem lies in hormonal contraception containing synthetic estrogens. These enter drinking water through urine and cause a catastrophe – disproportionately more females are being born. Considering this fact, Daubnerová points to the human males, and whether these are endangered as well. Is a twilight of males drawing near?” Krystína Kolibová
“Daubnerová works with a number of types. We can recognize the typical Czech (and Slovak) “handyman”, businessmen, metrosexuals, homosexuals, sensitive and tender guys, but also brutes. And they are not simply listed – through personal histories, the men testify about themselves. In these testimonies, men uncover their “sensitive side” as well, they speak candidly about family, fear, success and failure. Daubnerová does not judge or moralize, she simply speaks out about the contemporary man, through the general, she arrives at the concrete.” Saša Štefková
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