The Snow White
Robert Walser’s (post)fairy-tale drama Snow White deconstructs the comprehensive fantasies of reconciliation that lead to collective suppression of the trauma of Snow White, the Huntsman, and the Queen. The poisoned apple and the seven dwarfs imply a distant history, which is easy to call into question. With respect to form, Walser’s text is very specific and its poetry is difficult to translate into Czech. At the same time, its almost psychoanalytic dimension of the concept of the Snow White story as a “healing” ritual makes it modern. Walser’s reconciliation is then destroyed by a radical deconstruction of the fairy- tale as introduced by Elfriede Jelinek. Her fairy-tale is stylized as a philosophical discourse between a Heideggerian Huntsman and an emancipated Snow White.
Reviews
Should the black and white contrast be perforated by shades of grey and should the collective forgiving take place, we might be left only with bunch of costumes and props. Therefore, if you want your kids to fall asleep ever again, leave the poisoned apple where it should be. And once they go back to sleep, you can enjoy some philosophical reflections on archetypes at Studio Hrdinů.
Dominika Proková, Fullmoonzine, 16.6.2014
Re-formation, denying, and myth-breaking seems to be the influential trend nowadays, not just in theatre, but in any creative activity in general. This principle has been implemented in some productions of Studio Hrdinů as well, very openly in the very last premiere – a (post)fairy-tale Snow White. For Kai Ohrem and Jan Horák, Snow White is not the protagonist. However, Ivana Uhlířová draws the attention to her character as if she were the heroine, because her performance reflects better than the four actors the whole production principles.
Tereza Hýsková, Divadelní noviny, 24.6.2014
