BEST Divadlo (Brno English Speaking Theater) is returning to the stage after four years, with Broadway’s The 39 Steps, a slapstick comedy that parodies the 1930s movie of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock. The play premieres tomorrow, Monday, 18 November, at 7pm in Club Desert (Rooseveltova 591), with subsequent performances on Sunday 24, and Monday 25 November.
Brno Daily went along to one of BEST Divadlo’s recent rehearsals to see how the new production is shaping up, and and had a chance to speak to directors Pavlína and Victoria Špalda, along with Rebeka Hrubšová, another leader of BEST Divadlo, about their work and their company.
BD: After seeing you work together during the rehearsal, both as actresses and directors, you struck us as a fantastic team. We know you met at a different theater company some years ago. Could you tell us more about that?
P: Yes, we met at GWP, a theater company under the auspices of the Department of English and American studies at Masaryk University. That was the beginning of our shared love for the theater. Clearly, it continues on!
BD: What is your experience in theater? How did you pick up the skills and knowledge to produce this adaptation?
V: I’ve been doing theater for (oh my god) 24 years. I’m 29. I’ve been in multiple plays, musicals, improv groups, theatre camps with different companies and schools. I’ve also directed a handful of plays myself. I feel at home when I am doing theater.
P: My history is more in the dancing sphere; I’ve been dancing since I was a child and was studying at a dance conservatory for 8 years. Even though I’m not actively dancing anymore, it definitely prepared me to be the movement director that I could be today.
BD: Is it true, Vica, that your aunt took part in the production of the Broadway show of 39 Steps? Is this how you came to know the play?
V: Yes, my aunt, Pam Laudenslager, was a producer for the original Broadway show, and even won a Tony Award for it. I saw it on opening night and got to go to the cast party and go backstage, meet the actors, and from then on, it has been my favorite play. I am so lucky to have experienced that, and even luckier to be able to direct/act in it myself.
BD: If we understand correctly, this is the third attempt of 39 Steps to meet the public. What changed this time? Did the original cast survive?
P: COVID unfortunately put a stop to it every time. With the uncertainty of the lockdowns and whether or not we would even be able to put on the show, it turned into a ‘maybe someday’ project.
V: About half the cast is the original cast. I was originally a smaller part, but our original Hannay couldn’t be a part of it this time, and considering Richard Hannay is such a big role and I know the show so well, the production team and the directors thought that I would be the best choice. A similar situation happened with Pamela. Between the two of us, I think we’ve played every role for at least a few rehearsals.
The new cast members really have stepped up and are incredible to work with. They are just as dedicated to the show as we are. We also thankfully have a costume/props crew, and a sound person, both have saved the show multiple times. Everyone, cast and crew, completely understood what needed to be done, and they did it with enthusiasm and tenacity.
BD: Would you recommend the audience watching Hitchcock’s movie before attending the show? Would you advise otherwise? Or would you suggest seeing the play first?
P: Well, the movie is more serious, and there are some parts that definitely do not hold up to 2024 standards…but I think people will appreciate it more after watching the show. Then they can come see our show again to catch things they didn’t notice before!
BD: Working together as co-directors, how do you keep the vision of the play balanced?
V: Paja is an incredible movement director, and she did most of the blocking [BD: telling actors where to move]. She is incredibly organized and explains stage directions very clearly and is exceptionally detailed. I then work on the acting part, give people different directions, pull their characters out, have them try different emotions/tones/etc.
P: Vica is being modest. She does way more than that! Not only is she an incredible and experienced acting director, she also is really good at making the group get to know each other better and get out of their comfort zones. Through various theatre games and her kind nature, she manages to pull things out of people they didn’t know they had in them.
Both: We are pretty intuitive. Sometimes I have a note that I want to give, and Paja is already giving it to them. It’s great. We don’t really have disagreements, and our vision of the show is pretty much the same. We just excel in different areas to make the show complete. I think it’s really important as a director, if you co-direct or have an assistant director, to have them be better at something that maybe you lack. That way you balance each other out, and it’s less likely that there will be conflict.
BD: You play Richard Hannay and Pamela, and they are in love, maybe, or at least they display some romantic tension. How different is this kinship, when performed by you, to the one you keep off stage? Have you ever thought both relationships fit into the idea of “the real life” when in character and in private?
V: Our cast could probably answer that better, they are always saying that our chemistry is pretty strong. It’s quite fun to be in love on stage, and we act well with each other. One thing that is hard is the fact that we are too comfortable; we have to stop ourselves from holding each other’s hands sometimes. In another scene we share one kiss, and sometimes we automatically kiss once more. So I think sometimes we have to pretend to not like each other more.
P: I would also add that the dynamic portrayed in the show is between a man and a woman. That’s quite different from the dynamic that we have as two women in a relationship. We also quarrel a lot less than our protagonists.
BD: What’s the biggest challenge of performing comedy? Is it necessary for the cast to be funny or can an effective script carry an entire cast?
V: The cast is hilarious. We spend so much time laughing on and off stage. A good script helps too, but it’s really the cast that makes the lines come to life.
I believe that performing a comedy is sometimes more difficult than performing a drama. There’s a balance of “be funny”, but also “be believable”. We have to believe the characters care, and that their emotions are real. Otherwise, if we just keep trying to be funny, it feels flat and insincere, so people don’t really care about the story, and therefore, they don’t care about the jokes. This cast has a great balance of knowing when the story is more important, and knowing when they should land the joke.
BD: How does an amateur company manage to cover its costs? Is it profitable?
R: We are at the beginning of our journey of running this theater company and a lot about the practicalities of running it are still to be discovered. As of right now, I can say that we are very lucky to have inherited a bank account from our predecessors Ivana, Kay and Gene, and with it some money that we could use to support this production. We are trying to be mindful about our expenses, though, and we will do the accounting once the production is finished to see where we are standing.
BD: Other than being as English-friendly as can be, what makes BEST stand out from the theatre scene in Brno?
R: While the theatre scene in Brno is very diverse and bustling, in the field of English-speaking theater, there is a gap that BEST manages to fill very nicely. Our focus is mainly English and American plays, which distinguishes us from Czech Theater which performs original Czech plays translated to English. The newly formed Theatre Divadlo Theatre intends to perform experimental plays. MUNI’s theatre group, GWP, of course has a long history of performing English and American plays, but it’s a student organization which doesn’t make it accessible to people outside of the university. I dare say we stand out by fitting in.
BD: What’s the biggest challenge for an English-speaking company here in the Czech Republic? Where do you see yourselves heading in the next couple of years? Does BEST have a long term goal?
R: Having members that don’t speak Czech at all can pose a challenge sometimes but otherwise I’d say that the challenges we face are similar to the challenges of any theatre group.
As a newly revived amateur theater group, our vision is to grow into a thriving community of theatre enthusiasts and create an environment of creativity, collaboration and exploration. Now, as we are starting out, we want to lay the foundations for that and support people in trying out new roles, whether on stage or behind the scenes. And while we have this vision to guide our next steps, we want to remain open to ideas and possibilities instead of locking down on a specific goal. We are excited to see where our shared passion for theatre will lead us.
BD: How can theatre enthusiasts support, or even join the company?
R: We’d greatly appreciate it if theatre enthusiasts could support us by coming to our shows and letting us know what they think of the performance.
Anybody who would like to join us is certainly welcome to do so! Shoot us a message on social media or on our email address bestdivadlo@gmail.com, or approach us in person at any of our public events if you’d like to join our forces behind the scenes. If you’re looking to act, follow us online to be informed when auditions open.
BD: What is coming next for you?
R: We’ve already decided what our next show will be in 2025 and we’re thrilled about this upcoming project! But let me sit on the title of the play just for a little while longer, we will announce it very soon.
Tickets are available here. Regular tickets are CZK 250, and student tickets are CZK 200.
