"Every living being must develop methods of self‑defence corresponding to its way of life, its development and its relationships with other beings." (Abdullah Öcalan)

Many reporters bearing witness from conflict zones around the world grapple with the question of how to speak about these places – so that, with the sheer volume of bad news, they do not create resistance to receiving it, yet by remaining silent do not support dictators, the architects of destruction.

The performance Strategy of the Rose offers a proposed answer. Testimony about the world here is not formed by expert commentary, statistics, or selections of daily news, but by human stories. Tiny fragments as well as long stretches of the lives of individual protagonists, their own reflections and interpretations of the world intersect, overlap, cancel each other out and complement one another, becoming background, music, for each other.

In creating productions, work often drew on stories told by people who had experienced wars, hardship, and upheaval. Their narratives, although about difficult things, are not oppressive, do not emotionally blackmail, and do not lead to a reluctance to listen. On the contrary, they are a source of strength, of hope in life and in humanity. This is no coincidence; it was so with Ukrainians, Chechens, Syrians, Kurds; it is not a subjective impression, others have noticed it as well. It is similar in songs.

Efforts were made to uncover why this is so, how it happens. What is being discovered in this work does not concern only theatre, storytelling, or singing, but life as a whole. One part of being is the past, as it was; the other is the present, the joy of meeting, of everything that can bring joy. 

Concept: David Zelinka

Performers: Marika Smreková, Kamila Kutálková, Eliška Vrbová, Kristina Zindulková, Eva Miléřová, David Zelinka and possible guests, workshop participants

Duration: around 60 minutes + discussion

Conceptual inspiration: Susan Sontag: Regarding the Pain of Others, Artur Domosławski: Condemned