Zlin, South Moravia, Nov 7 (CTK) – A satirical revue entitled “Cabaret Ovcacek,” mocking the behaviour of President Milos Zeman and his spokesman Jiri Ovcacek, was premiered in the Municipal Theatre in Zlin on Sunday and all performances have been sold out, theatre director Petr Michalek has said.
Ovcacek confirmed to CTK that the theatre had invited him to the premiere. However, he did not book tickets and only wished “the committed artists” good luck with the performance.
Michalek, one of the co-authors of the revue, said before the premiere that the text had been written in two days and rehearsed only four times. The revue mainly reacts to the current situation with state orders awarded by Zeman, he added.
Politicians and other public personalities criticised the fact that Jiri Brady, 88, a Holocaust survivor of Czech origin, had not received a state order from the president.
Culture Minister Daniel Herman (Christian Democrats, KDU-CSL). accused Zeman of warning him that he would not present Brady (his relative) with the Order of T.G. Masaryk on the national holiday on October 28 if Herman met the Dalai Lama. After Herman did so, Brady’s name was allegedly deleted from the list of the personalities to be awarded by Zeman.
Some politicians did not attend the October 28 award-giving ceremony, hosted by Zeman at Prague Castle, the presidential seat, over it.
“This is a total harakiri which we dare to go ahead with because cannot keep silent and want to stir up a discussion,” Michalek said about the satirical performance.
The revue was created spontaneously by a group of underground performers called Pia Fraus.
Apart from Zeman and Ovcacek, the characters of the Dalai Lama as well as the first Czechoslovak president Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, Brady with his wife and some politicians appeared on the stage last night.
The premiere audience was laughing loud at many scenes and gave the actors a stormy applause.
The script of the revue was updated at the very last moment to reflect the latest developments. It includes, for instance, Zeman’s words on U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and his call on PM Bohuslav Sobotka (Social Democrats, CSSD) to dismiss Herman.
Since the two premieres were sold out quickly, the theatre added another three performances, but tickets to them disappeared in a trice, too. The last one is scheduled for November 17, the anniversary of the 1989 Velvet Revolution that initiated the fall of the communist regime.
Theatres in other towns, including Prague, have expressed interest in hosting the revue. “We have postponed the offers so far. We will decide after the premiere,” said Michalek.
