NOVÝ BLEŠÍ CIRKUS / NEW FLEA CIRCUS

Milan Šotek

Cast: 6 men, 2 women

The Czechs have already discovered a new circus, so why don’t they try it with a new flea circus as well! Jindrich Skorapka, the flea circus owner, has devoted his whole life to training these jumping creatures and achieved extraordinary results. Moreover, he was able to use it in dramatic art! Here comes flea polka at the Kapulets’ ball, swordplay between flea Tybalt and Merkucius, or flea actresses performing Shakespeare’s lines. Skorapka has constructed for them an amplification machine that transmits flea voices to the audience. With this flea circus he travels across the Czech land.

One day Skorapka comes to a village where nothing makes sense. The morning after, people in the pub are discussing last night circus performance that was scandalously interrupted in the middle of the balcony scene. Local citizens who considered it a swindle beat Skorapka and destroyed amplifying machine.

Today the council meeting is about to start at the pub. Mayor Kafr brings a platinum box where they want to put pieces of paper with message for next generation and which should be kept in the top of the town hall tower. The problem is that they are not really sure what message they want to leave there. Their discussion is interrupted by Skorapka who is searching for two of his leading actresses who got lost yesterday night. And they must be somewhere in the pub!

Skorapka’s stand-up performances and fleas under a magnifying glass portrayed by actors dressed in flea costumes make the comedy even livelier. This is undoubtedly a play with the greatest number of puns inCentral Europe!

The play was originally written for Studio Ypsilon.

The play was awarded the second place at Evald Schorm Awards for 2011.

  The play is available in Czech original.