PALACE BY THE LOIRA

Roman Sikora

Genre: drama
Cast: 4 men, 1 woman

A new Lady moves into one of the palaces by the Loire. She is married to a Czech minister and oligarch who has decided to hide her here from public because she was humiliating him back home. Most of the time, she is lying drunk in the bed or bullying the stuff that includes the former castle manager André, the Czech theatre-specialist and interpreter Jean-Luc and the new chef Alfred, who is not able to understand how anyone can eat and drink what the Lady likes to eat and drink, while his French specialties are being thrown at him in a rage when he flees the chambers in confusion. The residence is also shared by an invisible personal bodyguard, Boris, an Afghan veteran, whose main task is to keep the billionaire lady inside the palace.

The Lady is reputedly an interior designer so her task is to properly innovate the interior of the palace. Historic furniture ends up in garbage and is replaced with a practical inventory from IKEA and a huge pool might soon be built in the palace’s gardens too. The residence simply has to move with the times. Everyone is happy with their work, only Jean-Luc is sad that he has a lower salary than his French colleagues, André gives the cooks a tour around the remaining historical premises of the residence, Alfréd, after tasting Lady’s favourite wine, gracefully falls into deep unconsciousness and another night of hell with the Lady can begin. With all servility and mutual disdain.

In 2017 this play won the first prize in the competiton Talking about Borders organized by the Nuremberg State Theatre where it was later produced as well.

The play is available in the Czech original and German translation.