GOZD / FOREST: Three countries, two performances, one goal

At the beginning of November, people unafraid of challenges and new experiences gathered in eastern Slovakia alongside those sharing their perspectives on ecofeminism and consumerism through the language of new circus. This unconventional connection was further strengthened by venues that themselves are fighting for survival or recognition. Through collaboration, resilience, and persistence, an adaptation of the Slovenian production GOZD / FOREST by choreographer Danijela Zajc was created.

Artists from Slovakia and the Czech Republic were selected for the production through an open call: Lucia Bielik, Karolína Klavcová, Nela Rusková (the author of this text), Viktorie Szalóczi, and Ariadna Vendelová. The Slovak premiere took place on 12 November at Kulturfabrik Tabačka in Košice, followed by the Czech premiere two days later, on 14 November, at the Puppet Theatre in Ostrava.

Adapting a production is a demanding process that requires an open mind and the ability to absorb both small and large amounts of verbal and physical information. The meeting of new people with a team adapting the work for the third time (the first two adaptations took place in Timișoara and Rijeka), once again in a different landscape and with new performers, is not only demanding in terms of focus. It also brings a sense of responsibility and a careful distribution of energy, both for the creative team and the performers.

We rehearsed the production for five days, which is a very short time to fully grasp the themes the piece addresses. Our primary focus was on understanding the movement principles, the chronology of the work, and on cultivating trust among the performers—an essential element of this piece.

We therefore began rehearsals at Tabačka Kulturfabrik in Košice, which—together with other Slovak cultural centres—has been pushed to the brink by the current policies of the Slovak government. Despite this, the place and the people radiate a constant willingness and determination to continue and to seek solutions for keeping these spaces alive.

One such solution was precisely the collaboration with MOVE Ostrava and the Slovenian collective Matafir, in which both Danijela and the assistant director of this production, Jaka Andrej Vojevec, are active. The venue provided us with smooth working conditions, endless openness, and genuine care, which became a beautiful bonus to the entire process.

During the five days of rehearsals, we familiarised ourselves with many types of plastic. Whether it was hoses, costumes, hanging scarves, the floor, or water canisters, the priority was to understand their surfaces and to apply the necessary force to manipulate them. Each prop required a different approach, and for me personally this created a sense of tension, a need for strong presence, heightened spatial awareness, and careful distribution of my own weight.

As the production works extensively with water, all of the props mentioned changed their qualities depending on whether they were dry or wet, which meant that we had to learn how to handle the objects under two very different conditions. The entire process was therefore not only about trust, but also about continuous adaptation and subtle anticipation of situations and of one’s own movement across the stage, which was slippery and full of limitations.

With each passing day, Danijela brought something new, which continually reshaped our perception of the whole. Gradually, the piece began to resemble a large children’s playground - despite its precisely defined space, it became filled with an endless combinatory potential of actions, reactions, interactions, and imagination, which can become virtually inexhaustible if one’s awareness of the surroundings is sufficiently open.

For me personally, everything fell into place only during the dress rehearsal, the day before the premiere, with the arrival of the wonderful musicians Maja Pahor and Pia Skušek. The presence of musicians on stage throughout the performance is more of a rarity than a convention, which makes me value this project even more, as it connected not only nationalities and ideas, but also artistic spheres across multiple disciplines. This also includes the collaboration with costume designer Katarina Zalar, who created indestructible costumes from plastic foil that have travelled with the production since its very beginning and remain fully functional to this day.

The performance, lasting just under an hour, is a journey through dystopian fantasy rooted in the reality of today’s world, oscillating between fragile and explicit moments. It begins with half an hour spent wrapped in a plastic cocoon and ends bone-wet, hyperventilating on the floor beneath the audience’s feet. In between: finding balance, making love to a plastic scarf, handling a wine glass, almost drowning on dry land, singing Bartholdy’s Wedding March amid chaos, being nobility, being a turtle struggling to cross a beach, watching out for lights and musical instruments, offering support to the women around me and accepting what another offers - wherever it may lead us.

The piece contains many points of stability and support, but also countless variables beyond control. One such moment was the accidental breaking of glass during the performance, which triggered inner panic in me, as we were all barefoot and the show was not yet over. At the same time, the incident generated solidarity and an even stronger sense of connection within the group, which suddenly shared not only the stage but also a certain kind of adrenaline that spilled over to the audience. These and many other actions, images, and responsibilities alternated on stage - hyperbolically speaking - as rapidly as the planet is currently being polluted. The final visual of the stage was marked by total destruction and covered in plastic snow. The analogy of this image is, unfortunately, easy to decipher, with the only difference being that after the performance the entire team gathers and begins to clean up the stage.

Despite the speed of the rehearsal process, its intensity is undeniable. A great advantage for us was the opportunity to perform the production twice in quick succession and to share the experience with both Slovak and Czech audiences. As quickly as the project arrived, it also departed - but the memories of it remain in my body to this day.

Text: Nela Rusková | Photo: Kamil Hauptmann