The National Theater brno is currently hosting the Czech premiere of german playwright Maja Zade’s changes, a production distinguished by an unconventional casting choice. Actors Tomáš David and Petra lorenc are undertaking the challenge of performing all 23 characters in Zade’s work, which explores the nuances of everyday life and relationships. The play, a success at the Berlin Schaubühne am Lehninerplatz in 2024, marks a continuation of the Brno theatre’s commitment to showcasing contemporary German drama.
In a truly unique theatrical feat, actors Tomáš David and Petra Lorenc will portray all 23 characters in the Czech premiere of German playwright Maja Zade’s latest work, currently running at the National Theatre Brno. The production, titled *changes*, challenges conventional performance norms with its remarkable display of versatility.
Foto: NdB Bára Bachanová
An ordinary day begins with a relaxed breakfast together. By evening, almost different people have gathered in the apartment.
The play doesn’t focus on grand gestures or life-altering decisions. Instead, it’s a nuanced exploration of everyday struggles with relationships, emotions, work, and personal security. “The characters in *changes* don’t accomplish any great deeds or make any fundamental life decisions. Nevertheless – or precisely because of this – their everyday life is a constant struggle for relationships, feelings, work and their own security,” explains dramaturg Jaroslav Jurečka.
According to Reduta spokesperson Petr Tlustý, the performance’s casting is particularly noteworthy. Lorenc and David will embody all 23 characters – spanning ages, professions, and genders.
“However, this is not a traditional cross-dressing comedy. Playwright Maja Zade uses the interchangeability of roles to delve into the idea that we carry loved ones with us always, and that in everyone we meet, we can glimpse their reflection,” Tlustý added.
Director Aminata Keita, a resident director at the National Theatre Brno, emphasizes the actors’ transformative abilities, supported by Linda Holubová’s costumes – not merely as identifiers, but as tools for physical and emotional metamorphosis. Ján Tereby’s set design utilizes a universal domestic and work space that constantly reconfigures itself to create new meanings.
Maja Zade is a German playwright and dramaturg who has been associated with the successful era of the Berlin Schaubühne am Lehninerplatz theater, where her play *changes* also premiered at the end of 2024. This Czech premiere at Reduta follows the National Theatre Brno’s focus on prominent works of contemporary German drama.
Additional performances are scheduled for January 27 and 31, with further dates throughout February, March, and April.
