Oil lamps

A story about the collision of excruciating desire and fear. About what happens when a female cousin gets married to her male cousin. When an aging  girl about whom men never really cared hopes to find love, pleasure and motherhood in the arms of a courted handsome man who only wants to quietly get by, with her money, keeping his terrible secret. A story which says the greatest human heroism consists in accepting your own destiny.

The famous Czech novel the play is based on was written by Jaroslav Havlíček and was originally called Parched Desires (Vyprahlé touhy) – the title was pushed through by the publisher despite the author’s protests. The second, revised edition which was called Kerosene Lamps (Petrolejové lampy) was published after Jaroslav Havlíček’s death. He left two novels unfinished  – Wolf Skin (Vlčí kůže) and Broken Door (Vylomené dveře) – in which the fate of Štěpka Kiliánová continues until her death in 1938.

Among the cornerstones of the production are a new theatre adaptation, written by the well coordinated creative duo of the director of the NTB and the director of the performance Martin Glaser and the dramaturge Olga Šubrtová, a stirring tempo-rhythm  and a generous mise en scene, but mainly forceful acting of Hana Tomáš Briešťanská (Štěpka Kiliánová) and Martin Siničák (Pavel Malina).

About the company

The National Theatre Brno is a modern cultural institution established by the city of Brno. It consists of three ensembles: drama, opera and ballet. It has the use of three theatre buildings: Mahen Theatre, Janáček Theatre and Reduta theatre. It was founded in 1884.

Since 1 March 2014, the director of the NTB has been Martin Glaser. The artistic director of the drama ensemble has been Martin Františák.

The theatre currently holds two significant international festivals: the opera festival Janáček Brno and, since 2015, also the predominantly dramatic festival of progressive theatre Divadelní svět Brno (Theatre World Brno).