Viktor Dyk

The Ratcatcher (Krysař)

He's different, he's mysterious, he's present. And nothing can be hidden from him. A play inspired by a legend that is much too alive and one of the most famous pieces of Czech prose.

Švandovo Theatre Ensemble

Show Length:	2 hrs 35 min including intermission
Director:	Dodo Gombár
Premiere Date:	5. 11. 2016
Derniere Date:	21. 9. 2020

The town is troubled with rats - they are the source of all evil. It's time to call for a ratcatcher. He will lead them out of town, to the river, to die. He can do it with a song. It sound so quietly and his hands are so gentle. He is different than all the other people here. He has a hidden power. The rats follow him blindly. They follow him to a certain death. The town will be relieved and he will leave. He always leaves. All the towns he has ever been to. And he never looks back. He never looks back, he never stays after his task is done. The ratcatcher walks lightly. But what if it is different this time? He stayed longer than he intended to. Why, just outside the town's gates, is he thinking of returning? Why is he concerned about people whom he would have passed without noticing before? What if the rats were just an alibi for something that has been here for a long time?

It's not good to hear the sounds of the night. It's not good to step in the ratcatcher's path.

A special talent, hidden strength, hidden potential. A gift or a curse? There are the days when a man's shadow walks faster than the man himself. The ratcatcher changes people around him. And they change him.

One of the greatest works of 20th century is based on an old Saxon legend and still provokes too many questions and interpretations. Is the character of the ratcatcher friend or foe? Viktor Dyk makes his protagonist encounter all types of society. And then makes him confront his own deeds. A fascinating story revealing the depths of strong individualism and orderly being. Looking up to the sky may heal a soul but may also break a neck.

CHARACTERS AND CAST
KRYSAŘ: Klára Cibulková
AGNES: Réka Derzsi
SEPPJÖRGEN: Jacob Erftemeijer
TALL KRISTIÁN: Marek Pospíchal
AGNES'S MOTHER: Anna Stropnická (originally Martina Krátká)
KONRÁD RÖGER: Miroslav Hruška
LÍZA: Bohdana Pavlíková
KÄTCHEN: Martina Krátká
LORA: Eva Josefíková/Marie Štípková
FROSCH: Petr Buchta
STRUMM: David Punčochář
BEGGER: Luboš Veselý

PRODUCTION TEAM
ADAPTATION: Martina Kinská
DIRECTOR: Dodo Gombár
DRAMATURGY: Martina Kinská
STAGE DESIGN AND COSTUMES: Eva Jiřikovská
MUSIC: Gabriela Vermelho
PRODUCTION: Jitka Dvořáková
ASSISTANT TO DIRECTOR: Jacob Erftemeijer
STAGE MANAGER: Blanka Popková