I have always seen the profession of a playwright, thanks to our context, as a bit isolated and lonely. That is why I appreciate the opportunity to be part of the Fabulamundi network, which successfully breaks down my preconceived notions and provides me with a valuable dialogue not just with other playwrights across European cultures. I consider the exchange and sharing of creative experiences with other professionals in the field to be a vital part of my professional life. For me dialogue is a natural part of the creative process. I appreciate the opportunity to be part of the Fabulamundi network, which successfully breaks down my preconceived notions and provides me with a valuable dialogue not just with other playwrights across European cultures.
David Košťák
David Košták was born in 1991 in Prague. He works as dramaturg in Theatre LETÍ. He started to write his own plays during his studies but he debuted in 2013, when Theatre LETÍ performed his short play Fresh Love. The play already dealed with topics that he works with quite often in his work – man responsibility at the level of interpersonal relationships, but also his responsibility for a state of todays world. In his plays he often works with remarkable metaphor and with elements of magic realism, that are at a starting point of a plot. His genre range is quite varied. His plays include post-dramatic texts, intimate relationship drama, plays for youth, adaptations of literature and he regularly writes scripts for immersive theater. To this date, he has had three plays performed internationally: Bird Woman (Catalan Sala Beckett), Lajka (Romania), Over the Spilled Milky Way (Italy).
At the moment he is working on an opera libretto for the opera of the South Bohemian Theater and a play about Bertolt Brecht for Theatre LETÍ. David Košťák belongs to the authors of the youngest generation, yet he has written a respectable number of plays, both original topics and author’s adaptations of classic literature. His plays mostly touch interpersonal relationship, the fate of individuals in today’s society, criticism of consumerism and other phenomena of today, he often refers to childhood memories and inner world of person. His plays are characterized by a poetic language, with a slight touch of playfulness and humor, but also pathos and tenderness.
TROJAN WOMEN
3 female, 1 male
If Helene of Troy won Miss World, would she wish for world peace? A contemporary play inspired by a recurring history.
While men are settling accounts with the past, women are losing their future. For ten years, they lived trapped within the walls of Troy. The walls are being torn down and a new prison is being prepared for the Trojan Women. They are torn from their
homes and thrown into a culture whose language they do not speak. They fell asleep one night as wives and mothers and woke up the next morning as widows. A war that belongs to men, through the eyes of women who have to cope with its consequences. A new play inspired by ancient motifs and the fate of real women, from whom war has taken everything they had taken for granted. One king lost his queen and all women lost their husbands as a result. Trojan Women borrows motifs from Greek mythology, but instead of noble families, it turns its attention to ordinary people, giving individual voice to those who, in Euripides, are only part of a nameless chorus. The play follows the fate of three women on the threshold of a new life in a strange land. The first one tries to use all the possibilities of an unfamiliar world to her advantage, the second one gets closer with the enemy in order to survive, while the third one is failing to live up to the image of the victim that society expects of her.
The play is available in English
OVER SPILLED MILKYWAY
1 female (50 +), 1 male (25 +)
When Klára was a little girl her father left for journey to space. Now he is back. She got 50 years older her father on the other hand got 5 years older. Now they face the most difficult task – to accept the fact that their roles are exchanged. The child becomes parent and the parent becomes child. And since she suffers from cancer the clock is ticking. There is not so much time left.
Poetic play about relation of juvenile father and aging daughter. The time have flown through their fingers just like a star dust.
Play is composed of realistic scenes, poetic scenes and monologues of both characters.
HEART BELONGS TO JAIL
variable cast (performed with 2 females, 4 males)
Play is composed of fate of three characters. Young man from China comes to Czech Republic after sound of heart of his father. The heart was transplanted ilegally. He comes to listen to his beating for a last time. Young European woman starts to realize the impact of her everyday acting. She realizes with horror that today it is impossible to be a good man. Nobody is good these days. There are only people who realize their guilt and those who don’t. Third hero is character from animated show for children – Little Mole. Panda lures him to China because she wants to use his innocence to promote Chinese regime. Little Mole leaves to China with her and becomes withness of horrible missuse of human rights.
Postmodern collage was written in residency on concrete theme: violence. However play shows the most dangerous violence. The violence which is invisible, which is not direct. The violence that is a part of our everyday life. Play display it in absurd and grotesque scenes that force people to think about their own responsibility and the impact of their own deeds. The play as it’s main character of Chinese man doesn’t point finger at anyone but it wants to talk to peope who thinks about the state of contemporary world. That’s why the man speak with the audience in the end: „It is here. It sits with you. Somewhere among you there is chest, in which it beats. I don’t want to take it back. Please… I beg… let me sit with you… and listen. The heart of my father. It’s not happy here. But it still beats”.
Available in English.
New Voices
February 28, 2024
February 14, 2024
September 14, 2023
