11 June 2026 Lukáš Slavický – Head of Ballet at the South Bohemian Theatre
Dear Alenka, why did you decide to stage *The Cremators* – something you’d wanted to do for a long time?
I must admit that *The Incinerators* has been on my mind for a very long time. I think it must be at least 15 years. I once met Libor Vaculík – a renowned choreographer who, I believe, is also familiar to audiences in České Budějovice – at the premiere of a ballet in Plzeň. I told him about my plan to stage *The Incinerators*, but he wasn’t particularly enthusiastic – he’d had the same idea. Then, however, he smiled and told me to keep it to myself, saying that he would „do“ *The Shop on Main Street*. Nothing happened for a long time after that; whenever I pitched *The Incinerator*, all the artistic directors or programme curators were a bit put off by the subject matter and steered the conversation towards another production. Do you remember? You also suggested *The Nutcracker* to me back then :) That didn’t come to fruition, and so your offer for *South Specific* came along. Now, actually, I’m really glad that *The Incinerator* waited for this format – that is, an immersive, site-specific, performative walk.
The novella was written by Ladislav Fuks in 1967, and Juraj Herz’s cult film was made a year later. To what extent do you draw on both versions, and in what ways does your adaptation differ, if at all?
It is important to point out that our production is not an adaptation of either the novella or the film. It is written and staged based on themes from the novella. This is dance theatre – a predominantly non-verbal form – and in this context, simplification is necessary. We reduce both the plot and the characters, but in doing so we strive all the more to immerse ourselves in the atmosphere and emotions. I think that generally speaking – although exceptions prove the rule – dance theatre, unlike spoken theatre, which is dominated by the spoken word, is more about impressions than concepts. I would like – though I suspect this wish is not easy to fulfil – for the audience to try to switch off their analytical minds, forget about the film and the book, and simply try to experience the moment and the atmosphere. But yes, *The Incinerator* is *The Incinerator*. All the scenes more or less follow the plot of the book.
The production is having its world premiere, and it’s also an immersive, site-specific piece. What does that mean to you as a creator, and what was the biggest challenge?
I must admit that I do have experience with site-specific work, but not with immersion or performative walks. It’s certainly different, but I always try to approach each new premiere with a fresh perspective; I’d hate to ever fall into the trap of thinking I already know how „it“’s done. However, in this case, what’s new is the need to get a detailed sense of the audience member. How will they react? When will they want to get involved in the piece, and when will it feel uncomfortable for them? What will catch their attention? When is it fine for them to miss part of the action, because it’s all about the atmosphere, and when should they really see what happened? How long will the transition from point A to point B take? And how much music do we need in each scene? This was probably the biggest challenge for me.
Was the original music for the production composed by the renowned composer Gabriela Vermelho? What was it like working with Gabriela, and what do you find beneficial about having new music composed specifically for a production?
If my maths is correct, this is now our ninth collaboration with Gabriela on a full-length dance theatre production. We’ve had a break of about seven years, but I’m glad we’ve come together again on *The Incinerator*. Gabriela is a multi-genre performer and creator. She has no trouble composing and performing anything from a dark contemporary duet incorporating electronic elements to quasi-traditional Jewish liturgical chants, or putting her own unique spin on classic Czech Christmas carols. And that’s what I think is brilliant, and what suits our production perfectly. You certainly can’t expect the orchestral and choral music with post-Romantic and surrealist elements that Zdeněk Liška composed for the film. Here, a completely different genre is heard in every setting. In the Casino scene, it’s even a thoroughly contemporary „tucka“. What links most of the scenes is a certain electronic, ambient haze and Gabriela’s unmistakable voice.
When you’re creating a new dance piece, how long do you need to prepare, and where do you draw inspiration from when developing the movement vocabulary?
I usually tailor my movement vocabulary entirely to the chosen form and theme. I also perceive *Spalovače* as a dark farce, a series of panoptic scenes and a horror film with elements of minimalism. So there are often movements that seem to be frozen in time, getting stuck in certain poses, slow motion – that is, a slowing down – and other elements that can help me express the above, but just like the music, the choreography is also very eclectic. When it comes to a specific choreography – that is, once I know what form and theme I’m working with – my greatest inspiration is probably the music itself, followed by my own body and how it grapples with the emotion it is meant to express, as well as, increasingly, the dancers I work with and new trends on the contemporary dance scene.
What would you like the audience to take away from this performance, and in what way is this story perhaps – or indeed still – relevant today?
Well, I actually really enjoy updating older titles. And that’s because I want to highlight, in a way, that not much really changes in the human world – apart from the external backdrop. Do we think humanity is evolving in some way? That it’s more advanced? Wiser? Do we judge this by the technologies we control? Does that make us better? Do we think certain things can no longer happen, that we’ve learnt our lesson from the past?
They will, because the past is our future. Because, just as the Sages of old did, so too do scientists today confirm that time and space are illusions within which we live. Until we step out of this Matrix, everything will keep repeating itself – yes, in different settings; yes, with the illusion that humanity is progressing; yes, with the illusion of evolution. It is not evolution; it is merely ups and downs. Jeffrey Epstein – one might think that affair took place sometime just before the fall of Rome. But no. Apparently, a person has around 60,000 thoughts a day, and about 90% of them are the same as the day before. We’re programmed; nothing new awaits us, everything has already happened. And so – until we step out of the programme and take responsibility, Mr Kopfrkingl (The Incinerator) will continue to walk amongst us.
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