Luxi

By Miriam Sherwood & team

Miriam and her granddad are making a cabaret together. They’re the perfect double act: he’s got the stories, she loves telling them, and they both have a flair for the theatrical. The only problem is they’ve never met. (He’s been dead for 37 years.)

Jan ‘Laco’ Kalina was a dramaturg, satirist, collector of jokes and writer of cabarets, born in Czechoslovakia in 1913. A Slovak Jew, he survived the fascists only to be imprisoned by the communists, who believed him a threat to the regime.

Digging through objects and stories from Laco’s remarkable life, Miriam searches for her granddad’s voice through his own jokes, skits and songs, conjuring up an archival cabaret that reverberates with laughter from a very different place and time.

With original music and a live band of Slovaks, Rendezvous in Bratislava traces family connections across national, historical and political borders, and celebrates the power of laughter in troubled times.

AUDIENCE COMMENTS:

“BRILLIANT! Totally original – extremely interesting and entertaining and thought-provoking.”

 “Real history + charming presentation + the best pop song ever = the most inventive & original theatre I’ve seen in months”

“Loved this show last night. Intimate, ambitious & heartfelt. Plus prosecco & a live band! What’s not to like!?”

“The story was incredible. I loved every minute of it! It was really touching; heartbreaking.”

“It made me cry, made me laugh, it made me proud to be myself. I loved it!”

“You captivated me with the story of a person I knew nothing about, and gave me a way into a culture I knew nothing about. Thank you.”

Here’s Jenna Johnson describing the show in British Sign Language

Jenna joins the team for the performance on Saturday 6 October at 8pm.

Download the beautiful show programme
– click the links: Page 1   Page 2.