AUTHOR Ondřej Novotný
TRANSLATION Martina Lisa
DIRECTION, SCENOGRAPHY Ondřej Štefaňák
DRAMATURGY Jana Startsev
COSTUMES Maryna Ianina
MUSIC Christoph Rothmeier
ASSISTANT DIRECTORS John Bingaman, Rosanna Saacke
TECHNICIANS Henriette Albrecht, Benjamin Henkel
PRODUCTION Jennifer Krebs, Hannes Raetz.
STARRING Soheil Bohoumand, Verena Noll, Henry Sergeant
Special thanks to Lucie Roznětínská, Hynek Chmelař, Václav Marhold, Ferdinand Kalika, Bartoloměj Kalika for their collaboration on the recordings and videos.
500 marks of silver and 120 oxen. This is the tax that the Saxon Duke Henry the Fowler demanded from the Bohemian King Wenceslas not to invade Bohemia in another war.
Tenth century. Wenceslas does not want to rule, he would rather read. But he must fight for the fate of his people. Elections are coming soon and who wouldn't want to keep the peace? Every year a pile of silver and live flesh travels together from Bohemia to Saxony to preserve the sovereignty of the Czech nation. The story depicts the journey of these defenceless and clumsy creatures against the backdrop of the wider political context. The oxen yearn for foreign lands, but also for their homeland, for recognition, for self-determination. They no longer want to be a mere herd. The story humorously reveals the weaknesses of both nations and the far-reaching Czech-German historical ties by mixing past, present and future.
The production is part of the Czech-German production diptych 120 volů / 120 Ochsen, which Theatre X10 conceived in cooperation with the independent theatre Schaubühne Lindenfels in Leipzig. Based on the legend of St. Wenceslas, the birthplace of Czech statehood and the various interpretations of Czech-German relations, two original texts were created, whose productions lead a lively cross-border dialogue. The X10 Theatre is presenting the text 120 volů, directed by the author Evy Schubert, and the Schaubühne Lindenfels is presenting the text 120 Ochsen, directed by the artistic director of X10, Ondřej Štefaňák.
