Marysha at The National Theatre

Marysha kills Vávra with a poison poured into his coffee. Few among the audience do not know how the story of a girl married against her will and driven to an act of despair works out. Were it a crime drama, this knowledge would be a detriment. Fortunately, however, there are stories that are worthy of retelling. In our production too, Marysha kills Vávra with a poison poured into his coffee. But what is Marysha like? And what about Vávra? Marysha, a masterpiece of the Czech rural realism (written in a truly outstanding language), today an indisputable part of our dramatic repertoire, entered the National Theatre through the backdoor, when in 1894 Ladislav Stroupežnický decided to stage its premiere within the cycle of afternoon people’s performances. Since then, the National Theatre has created ten productions of the play (with the most recent being J. A. Pitínský’s 1999 adaptation). The National Theatre Drama will do its utmost to make the eleventh Marysha a dignified and festive contribution to the Czech theatre tradition.