David Ives' All in the Timing

The old adage that laughter is the universal language will be put to the test in the upcoming debut of a new local bilingual theater troupe.

Theater troupe Cepín's first production is an evening of the work of American playwright David Ives, featuring three of the one-act plays from his comical collection All in the Timing. Sure Thing, English Made Simple and Variations on the Death of Trotsky will be performed for two nights at Café Sladkovský. Cepín, whose name translates as "ice axe" and is presumably a nod to the murder of Russian Commissar Leon Trotsky, consists of four Czechs and one American. Their stated intention is to hurdle language barriers, and accordingly, the troupe will perform two of the plays in English and one in Czech. Copies of the script will be available in both languages, although Cepín actor and translator Pavla Le Roch tells The Prague Post that the American humorist's work is bilingual in its own right.

"Ives' humor is ideally suited for bringing Czechs and expats together," Le Roch says. "His minimalist dialogue in our first two plays is at first glance naive and simple, but actually deals uncompromisingly with underlying clichés and stereotypes in a way that's universal."

A brilliant dialogist, Ives straddles the everyday and the absurd, raising laughs through deft wordplay and his ability to conjure familiar situations.

Both Sure Thing and English Made Simple deal with relationships between women and men who have to overcome stereotypical obstacles in order to realize true love. The former play sees a faux pas-laden exchange between two people in a café, while English Made Simple is a wry observation on the ubiquitous awkwardness of small talk at parties.

Variations on the Death of Trotsky veers into denser theater, with a black humor that is traditionally well accepted in Czech culture.

"Unlike the first two, this is not a contemporary piece, but takes place at the time of Trotsky's death in 1940," Le Roch says. "We chose this play because it stands out against the first two in theme and style of dialogue. Nonetheless, it shares the dynamic of repetition, going two steps forward, one step back, creating a stumbling effect across the cracks of witty remarks and humorous associations."

Le Roch is hopeful that Cepín's concept of bilingual theater will be the beginning of a less dichotomized theater scene in Prague. In an effort to continue their momentum, the troupe is planning to debut a second bilingual production in the fall.

Will Noble can be reached at
wnoble@praguepost.com