Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2017 - Public - 17

who had left their frames, singing, drinking, and enjoying the party as if nothing had ever happened. In this
tragedy, catharsis did not take place.
The design itself, drawing on the historical styles
of Constructivism and Action design, solely consisted
of the most necessary elements on an otherwise bare
stage, some of which acquired meaning only with the
presence of the actor. However, it is clear that this staging method pushes the role of the scenographer in the
creative process well beyond typical norms. Preková's vision not only determined the ways the stage space and
the costumes were articulated but she actively selected
the themes or motifs of the text to be developed in the
production, and even recontextualized Shakespeare's
dramatic situations.
This approach to creating sets and costumes for
Shakespeare requires an open interpretation of the
play that is free from reverence to the Bard and based
on retracting bits of individual and collective cultural
memory. This interpretation demystifies the Bard as the
worshipped classic, and only uses sediments of staging
traditions and academic knowledge with distance, as a
deliberate work with clichés.
It is interesting to compare King Lear by Nebeský and Preková to the 2013 Hamlet at Švanda Theatre, directed by Daniel Špinar and designed by the
youngest scenographers represented in the exhibit: Lucia Škandíková (b. 1984; costumes) and Iva Němcová
(1981-2015; set). Where Nebeský and Preková used

King Lear. National Theatre, Prague; premiere Nov 10, 2011; directed by Jan Nebeský;
set by Jan Nebeský and Jana Preková; costumes by Jana Preková; multimedia by David
Vrbík. Final Scene, King Lear (David Prachař) and Cordelia/Fool (Kateřina Winterová)
hanging on the wall of an art gallery as living artifacts. Photography by Viktor Kronbauer.
Courtesy of Arts and Theatre Institute, Prague, Czech Republic, reproduced by
permission of Viktor Kronbauer.

scenography to shift the play's conventional genre,
Škandíková and Němcová used the stage environment
to underline the canonization of Hamlet. In this production, Hamlet, who watches his deceased father's message
on his cellphone, occasionally wears heels, and whose
relationship to Ophelia is openly sexual, navigates the
contemporary, compact interior space of a festive hall.
This realistic yet generic, or perhaps globalized, space
was cramped with objects and details such as family
portraits and a glass showcase with medieval armor and
swords. Evoking a museum, it worked both as a location
and a multi-faceted metaphor offering a self-conscious
commentary on the canonical status of the play. The visually haunting final scene showed all the characters of
the play trapped inside the lit showcase; only Hamlet,
standing naked in front of it, was set free from this museum of living artifacts.
Whichever approach to Shakespeare they have taken, the scenographers working in Czech contexts since
1910 have been crucial members of the artistic team-
authors in their own right and the first and closest
partners to the director in developing the performative
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