Dream of the Primeval Forest

directed by, translation, script, dramaturgy Joanna Maria Gierdal
set design, puppet, costumes, light design Laura Černáková
performers Ondrej Gajdoš, Mário Houdek, Ivana Lechhmanová, Dávid Selecký, Naďa Balacenková

Have we forgotten that we, too, are part of the animal kingdom?

This production is inspired by the book Bambi: A Life in the Woods by Austrian author Felix Salten, published in 1923.The story of the forest is a story of fear, helplessness, and violence that echoes in every gunshot. Salten’s text became an allegory of an era when the world was heading towards war, and humanity lost its sense of connection with nature. In 1935, the book was banned by the Nazis – and perhaps that’s why its message resonates even more urgently today. We kill because we have forgotten that we are not above nature, but part of it. If we quiet our own noise, we might hear how fragile the world we are destroying truly is. The dream of the forest is not a dream about animals – it is a dream about ourselves.

Korene&Kosti is an independent theatre collective founded in 2021. In their artistic work, they combine elements of puppetry, object theatre, and physical performance with live music. Their aim is to explore new staging forms, approach creation in unconventional ways, and examine the potential of the stories they choose. Dream of the Forest was originally created as a graduation performance at the Department of Puppetry at VŠMU, after which the ensemble established their own independent creative platform.

15+ | 60‘

Komorní scéna Aréna
slo + eng subtitles

foto: Rafał Skwarek