Holektiv

LAUNDRESSES

FARSKÁ ZAHRADA, OSTRAVA
THURSDAY, JUNE 18,
5 PM

NEW CIRCUS

MOVE + summer + Farská zahrada – a combination that guarantees performances that delight and surprise children and adults alike. Following last year’s Ballet Class (Lekce špičkování), the beloved Czech company Holektiv returns to Ostrava with its latest production, Laundresses (Pradleny), presented in cooperation with the TANEC PRAHA festival and as part of the Léto v centru programme.

Playful contemporary circus, acrobatics, humour, the vibrant energy of three outstanding performers, and the magical atmosphere of Farská zahrada in the heart of the city. Recommended for children aged 4 and up, the performance is just as captivating for adult audiences.

Laundresses is a playful contemporary circus production by Holektiv, celebrating the company’s tenth anniversary with the return of its original trio – Andrea Vykysalá, Karolína Křížková and Eva Stará. In a laundry filled with steam, soaking wet clothes and clotheslines, it is not only shirts that are being washed. Memories are laundered, old sins are scrubbed away, and stories accumulated over the years swirl among the hanging sheets.

Dance, acrobatics and Holektiv’s signature grotesque humour intertwine in a poetic celebration of everyday life, cleansing and transformation. Laundresses is a performance full of wit, movement and the joy of being together. It invites audiences to slow down for a moment, surrender to their imagination and enjoy a summer afternoon in a unique open-air setting.

Kopie souboru Holektiv_Pradleny_IG_007.jpg

In 2026, Holektiv celebrates its tenth anniversary, and the trio Andrea Vykysalá, Karolína Křížková and Eva Stará reunites in its original line-up after years of pursuing separate creative paths. The company, with international successes ranging from RoundAbout Europe to festivals in Japan, Italy and Armenia, has chosen a challenge for this celebration: to create an outdoor production for the international TANEC PRAHA festival that speaks to audiences across generations. Under the direction of Veronika Poldauf Riedlbauchová, they present Laundresses - a playful contemporary circus performance about everyday work and its ritual meaning of cleansing.

Welcome to a laundry filled with wet clothes, an atmosphere of chaos and steam, where absolutely everything is washed. Shirts, socks, secrets and old sins. The laundresses have their hands full - water splashes, fabric is scrubbed, and some stains, on clothes and on souls alike, simply refuse to come out. This laundry is a place where life itself is washed through, emotions are wrung out, and memories are hung up to dry.

Holektiv has a distinctive artistic signature - feminine energy, grotesque playfulness and humour intertwine with dance, acrobatics and elements of contemporary circus. The trio of creators consciously embraces challenge instead of relying on the certainty of established formulas. In collaboration with director Veronika Poldauf Riedlbauchová, a new creative space opens up for the company.

Laundresses is an invitation to a relaxed intergenerational experience, where humour meets the poetics of everyday life and ordinary work gains an unexpected resonance.