Prague Fringe festival will be dominated by women this year

Scottish national Steve Gove, who lives in the Czech Republic, founded Prague Fringe eighteen years ago, following Edinburgh’s example. As many other countries followed this concept, every year around 250 Fringe festivals take place around the world, featuring hundreds of thousands of artists and actors. More than 19 million people see 170,000 projects in over 60,000 venues. All productions are either in English or are puppet and physical theatre.

 

This year’s festival will be dominated by women

From the 24^th of May to the 1^st of June, this year’s Prague Fringe will take over Malá Strana (Lesser Town). Artists from 19 countries across the globe will meet in the Czech capital. In a total of eight venues, you will find theatrical performers from Scotland, New Zealand, and other countries, as well as Czech artists.

Gender will be at the forefront at Prague Fringe 2019, and a great deal of opportunity will be given to female performers and authors. Among them will be the Australian Sarah Kendall, known for her BBC sketches, who will perform in Prague for the first time. Bonnie Fechters will introduce her one woman show. Another show, ‘Where Are You Really From’, which was awarded with Student Thalia, portrays the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic through the eyes of women.

 

Businessmen and Armageddon

However, the theme of gender will also focus on men and maleness. ‘In the Woods Where the Men Work’, brought to you by the American Oof Theatre Collective, is about macho alpha maleness. A group of males – pardon – businessmen wakes up one day in the forest and has to fight for survival. The performance includes a life-sized ox puppet, animation and dance elements, and it observes the core of our civilisation with cold detachment.

The piece was created in autumn 2014 when the United States faced a series of natural disasters. In the midst of floods and devastating fires, the US government persistently denied the existence of climate change, and so the writers began asking: is capitalism more important than people and landscape? Are we really on the border of Armageddon and doing nothing?

 

Card magician in Prague

To prevent your festival experience from becoming too serious and depressing, we recommend alternating serious themes with more light hearted shows, such as a performance by the Brazilian Ewerton Martins. The renowned card magician has charmed audiences in 52 countries. At Prague Fringe 2018, all his performances were totally sold out. This year, Ewerton returns with a brand-new magic show. His performance ‘El Diablo’ offers a unique opportunity to be carried away by a South American wizard who allows the audience to shuffle cards and to look at his act close up.

 

Students from Prague and Rijeka

Two renowned student theatres, one Prague and the other from Rijeka, collaborated on another production which appeals to social issues. They were inspired by the poem ‘The Night, The Pharmacy, The Street’, and created two productions about social problems for today’s youth and the cyclicality of life from the perspective of the ‘lost’ Generation Z. Over the past few years, Prague Youth Theatre and Rijeka Youth Theatre have collaborated on several projects; however, this will be their first performance in Prague.

◾www.praguefringe.com

 

INFORMATION ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

24/05/2019 – 01/06/2019

Festival venues:

Malostranská beseda, Kampa Theatre, Inspirace Theatre, A Studio Rubín, Míšeňská Café Club, Golden Key, Museum of Alchemists

Tickets: CZK 150 - 170