Bristký novinář, artista a pedagog John Ellingsworth založil vlastní on-line magazín Sideshow, který se zaměřuje na cirkusová umění. V rámci festivalu Edinburgh Festival Fringe připravil rozhovor s českým performerem a cirkusákem Rosťou Novákem. Soubor La Putyka letos hostuje v Edinburghu se svou prvnotinou La Putyka.
citace ze Sideshow:
Sideshow talks to Rostislav Novak, the director of Cirk La Putyka, about his backgound in theatre, circus from a fresh perspective, and the destinies of barmen.
Could you say a little about your background as a director? What caused you to work with circus?
I’m not a director by profession, I’m an actor – as an undergraduate I studied alternative and puppet theatre. Since then I’ve been performing in several Prague theatres – a marionette theatre, the National Theatre – in experimental and alternative projects. In 2006 I co-created my solo performance 8 – Birds Black, Tits Great with the theatre group SKUTR. It was a show that mixed genres, with traditional puppet theatre, contemporary dance, acrobatics on trampoline, spoken word and projection. The whole show was a staged documentary about my family history, which dates back to 1775 and has links to the traditional puppet theatre. The idea to create a performance that could be called new circus, in Czech conditions, originates from that time, but I’ve been fascinated with circus since my childhood. When I saw Que-Cir-Que for the first time in 2001, my interest in the genre was renewed.
I read that part of the reason for your making La Putyka was to develop a Czech circus aesthetic that was distinct from the French mode. What made you want to do this? Do you see the new/contemporary circus scene as lacking aesthetic variety?
No, but we’ve known from the beginning that the contemporary circus world has got a head start on the Czech Republic. For La Putyka I attempted to pull together a group of people who’d be interested in such a project and who’d like to try something new in our conditions, which are limiting on one hand but liberal on the other. Everything we did we did without any experience of contemporary circus. We had no background in the circus disciplines.
The circus scene I think is plentiful and very inspiring. However, you can look at the Czech culture, and the people devoted to pursuits other than theatre, and find them inspiring as well.
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