Set at the picturesque Renaissance chateau Kratochvíle, located south of Prague near České Budějovice, the performance is a mix of acrobatics and puppetry with a strong element of street theater. But as Pavel Šťourač, artistic director of Divadlo Continuo, points out, the experience is difficult to describe in words.

"More than anything else, it's a chance to see a historic monument through different eyes, a way of seeing the place more through the emotions," says Šťourač. "The spectator will start to experience the architecture in a completely different context."

In other words, the performance can't be moved to a different venue and, in a sense, can never be repeated, since it is inseparably linked to the specific time and place.

Last year's production featured floating stages, fire-juggling and performers suspended high above ground. This year's theme will be "the journey of man in search of his wings," which means audiences can expect puppets, masks, costumes, acrobatic feats by the actors and, above all, lots of unabated revelry. After all, Kratochvíle means "amusement." When the chateau was built in the late 16th century, it was intended expressly as a venue for leisure and festivities.

"What's especially charming about the place is the intimate atmosphere," says Vojtěch Troup, administrative director of the chateau. "The whole complex is enclosed, because it was meant to be an oasis of culture in the middle of a wilderness," he adds. "That's what's so magical about it."

Šťourač agrees. For Continuo, the location provides an endless mine of inspiration. "It's a place that has its own specific spirit," he says. "Every year we find something new to communicate there."

The place has proved to be so inspiring, in fact, that Continuo bought a nearby property called Švestkový Dvůr nine years ago, where the troupe members live and rehearse year-round. It also provides a space for workshops and seminars. Continuo collaborates there with a number of artists from abroad, and works with some of the local schools.

"For us, the Kratochvílení project isn't just about the performance," Šťourač points out. "It's also a three-week workshop for the performers." People from all over Europe have come together for this year's project, increasing the Continuo cast in number from seven to 30, so rehearsals can sometimes resemble Babel. "Six languages are being spoken now," says Šťourač. "At any give time you'll hear a mix of French, English, Czech and German."

A little bit of chaos doesn't throw off Šťourač. After all, he says, Continuo thrives on a certain degree of improvisation, especially in the early stages of putting a performance piece together.

When Continuo started out 10 years ago, it was as a puppet theater, which in many ways Šťourač says it still is. "The concept of puppetry is the animation — not the manipulation — of something that isn't alive. We still do that. We work with large objects, puppets and costumes," he says. "For us, the boundaries between puppets, masks, costumes and actors are very fuzzy. A costume can become a space. A prop can become an actor and vice versa."