Prague - Not only is Leaving the first new play by Václav Havel in nearly two decades, many critics also believe it is his best ever. Yet, the attempts to stage it have so far been doomed.
After The National Theatre, tipped from the beginning to be the one to premiere the latest theatrical offering by the Czech ex-president, pulled out earlier this year from staging the play, Vinohrady Theatre, which initially showed interest, followed the suit.
The speculations appeared earlier this week that the expected premiere of the play in May 2008 is under threat. Now it has been officially confirmed.
Too demanding. Technically
"The Vinohrady Theatre, Václav Havel, his agency and director David Radok confirm that the prolonged, difficult, but mutually tactful negotiations about staging the play Leaving have, unfortunately, not come to a fruitful end," reads the statement, released today.
The primary reason for this is reportedly the inability of the theatre to satisfy the technical and budgetary demands which the director has to fulfill his vision. It has been alleged, unofficially, that the technical requirements of Mr. Radok were going "too far".
Director of the Vinohrady Theatre was also quoted in the media as saying the production was becoming too costly at the time when the Prague city hall slashed its funding for the theatre by 3,4 million Czech crowns for the next year.
This helped fuel the speculations and rumours making rounds in Prague theatrical circles about possible political pressure hampering the production at Vinohrady, a theatre which is seen as closely associated with Prague's ruling Civic Democratic Party (ODS).
The party was founded by the current president and Havel´s long-time political rival Václav Klaus who continues to be its honorary chairman.
"It is possible that the begotiations with the National Theatre will be re-opened, everything is possible at this moment," Jitka Sloupová from Aura Pont, the agency representing Mr. Havel, said.
Ondřej Černý, the director of the National Theatre, has been quoted in the last couple of days as saying that informal negotiations are under way again. Previously, the main obstacle in the two sides reaching agreement, was reportedly the author's insistence that his wife Dagmar and his long-time friend Jan Tříska be cast in the lead roles.
Redemption for the National?
After the theatre bowed out of the negotiations citing the rule of casting the members of its own troupe, critics were generally expressing the opinion that the National's decision was neither polite nor wise. It now has a chance to redeem itself by at least offering a stage with an outsourced production.
"All options are available at the moment, we have just begun (negotiating). Unfortunately, I cannot tell you anything more than that at the moment," Aura Pont's Jitka Sloupová says.
Or a premiere abroad?
If the further negotiations fail to bring result, there is a strong possibility the world premiere of Leaving will take place outside the Czech Republic: Slovak National Theatre scheduled a production for autumn 2008, and theatres from several other countries expressed interest in staging it. The text has already been translated to eight languages.
Meanwhile, two other Czech theatres applied for the rights to perform Leaving: Klicpera Theatre in Hradec Králové, where Mr Havel's friend and long-time director of his plays Andrej Krob would be the one to stage it, and the South Bohemia Theatre in České Budějovice.
