Labyrinth

Káznice is a labyrinth. The path leads to the centre. Enter.

Site specific performance guides the viewer through the former penitentiary, through an old abandoned prison, where community and artistic life has been actively developing in the last few years.
The imaginative collage Labyrinth reflects this current revival of a unique brownfield and also other layers and themes associated with the site. The performance draws the viewer into the heart of the Káznice, installing imaginative compositions using theatrical and audiovisual means.

The individual elements that make up this spatial “patchwork” come from different layers and periods of the building. Historical reminiscences of the late Baroque period, when the Káznice was built, and of the 1950s, when it experienced its darkest period during the communist terror, are interwoven with references associated with the present.

Artistic objects of hearts and heads, masks, props, fragments from recent performances, and even actors who have come to Káznice as part of various theatre projects and workshops, all form a contemporary layer that represents the current life of the Káznice. This is a new direction, a new path and a new opportunity for a dilapidated building.

Labyrinth is the result of a collaboration between the Káznice-based ensemble Divadelní smečka (Theatre pack), dancers and performers from Brno, the musical duo Lishkee and filmmaker Petr Kačírek. The authors of the concept and direction are Pavel Strašák and Zdeňka Kučerová. In addition to their solo projects and activities, they are also connected with Káznice as founders of the local theatre association, the Faktor K. festival and other projects with a strong site-specific component (Sculptures for the Bronx, Zvěř etc.).