Heavenly Clownery Angel-y

Two strange black-feathered beings with faces gently dusted with white and a strong, also black, but only outlined clown makeup appear on the stage. They are dressed in tailcoats, trousers and huge black boots, on their backs there are realistic looking wings they can move with in different ways. As for their appearance, it is somewhere between Goya's ghosts, apparitions from Byzantine frescoes and characters from a contemporary sci-fi movie. It is morning, crowing wakes one of them, which is followed by a moment of morning sleepiness and waking up and a music theme can be heard: the voice from above calls the angels to service at the gates of Heaven. One of the angels has a sword, the other has a bow and arrows. They stand on garbage cans and welcome imaginary visitors. But is it really gates of Heaven? And are they really angels? A pass-through, swinging doors in a movable, metal frame leads nowhere. Moreover, nobody else comes, even though the voice from above calls again and again. The angels, at first enthusiastically carrying out their mission, gradually sink into depression. They while away the time making little jokes, but boredom makes them leave the service; they choose their own existence. This brings about several both poetic and dramatic scenes: they gain height racing their garbage cans, enjoy the sensation of flight and eventually land. But they also have their ideals and desires. From the top of the assembled garbage cans they observe the world, but the flowing tenderness of white feathers repeatedly slips through their fingers; this is followed by moments of injuries and recoveries by drops of light and there is a time for a game once again: shooting with a bow, which turns from amusement to a fatal hit; the wounded angel is deprived of his wings and dies, the other can not cope with the feeling of guilt. However, he fails to fix the rope in his hands anywhere, the rope transforms into a lasso, which surprisingly draws another victim.

Due to both intelligent actresses-dancers the seemingly light-hearted, fairy tale-like storyline turned into an absurd grotesque of human existence. Anyway, the sheer delight of an imaginative habitus of the piece, the witty transformation of various visual art and literary motifs into new poetic meanings and the energy both performers put into building up their characters on the stage grant the production big success with audiences.
The production Angel-y undoubtedly ranks among several pieces of mime theatre, which have recently vindicated the meaning and qualities of the genre. In this context, special thanks go to the management of Studio Alta – especially Lucia Kašiarová – who once again proved their artistic tolerance and the ability to accept a wide range of creative ideas.
Written from a performance on March 21st, 2014, Studio ALTA.
Angel-y
Stage direction: Lucia Kašiarová and Vanda Hybnerová
Divine inspiration: Boris Hybner
Angelic stage design: Michal Kábele and Hynek Dřízhal
Heavenly lighting design: Lukáš Benda
Premiere: October 18th, 2013