"I'm 9 years old. My dad didn't come back, so my mom went looking for him. They found daddy dead, lying in the clover fields. He was clutching a clover in his hand. He was killed in the revolution on May 7, the day before the end of the Second World War," says Růžena, an eyewitness.
Celebrating the end of the war - but what's inside? Memories come flooding back, as do the questions. How to find the meaning of life again?
The play Clover fields from the series We Are Memory, based on the true stories of four eyewitnesses, reconstructs the moments of the liberation of Czechoslovakia. The young artists bring to life the memories of the survivors, showing the fear they had to live with, what they lost and what could not be saved. On stage, devastated reality meets fragile symbols - for example, a porcelain cup that survived while the people around it disappeared.
The premiere took place on January 27 in collaboration with CIRQUEON and became part of the remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust. The creation of the production was supported by the eyewitnesses themselves, who shared their stories - of fear, of loss, but also of the will to carry on.
Thank you to Bistro Sisters for the delicious refreshments, to Flowers Behind the Curtain for the beautiful bouquets for all the lovely participants, and to Theatre X10 for providing a space where this powerful story could be told.
The production is one of ten performances staged by theatre companies in eight European cities this year to honour the victims of the Holocaust and commemorate their stories as part of Theatre Na de Dam. The next performance will take place on February 2, followed by a debate. We would be delighted if you could come.
(Photo by: Tomáš Cindr)
