KFT / Karel František Tománek (*1962), is presently the dramaturge at the Dejvice Theatre in Prague, one of the most interesting studio theatres in the Czech Republic. Both his adaptations for the theatre and his own dramatic work have been staged by, for example, the Drama Studio of Ústí nad Labem, the National Theatre of Moravia and Silesia in Ostrava and the Klicperovo Theatre in Hradec Králové. His play Sandwiches of Reality ®, based on the life of the Beat Generation, his adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet, and his adaptation of I.B. Singer's novel Enemies, A Love Story can be seen at present on his home stage.
LIST OF PLAYS:
KFT/sendviče reality® (Sandwiches of Reality®), 2003, première 15.10.2004, Dejvické divadlo Praha
Život je krásnej2005 (Life Is Beautiful2005), 2004, an honorary mention in Alfred Radok´s Award anonymous competition in 2004, not yet performed
Love Story (after Isaac Bashevis Singer), 2005, première 11.3.2005, Dejvické divadlo Praha
Kdyby nebyla elektřina... (If There Were no Electricity), 2006, not yet performed
Spřízněni volbou (dramatization of J.W.von Goethe´s novel), 2006, première 2.11.2006, Dejvické divadlo Praha
SANDWICHES OF REALITY®
(KFT/sendviče reality®)
8 men, 7 women
A play about life, death & sex
Ann throws Neal out of her flat. Jack tries to calm things down, but Neal, at Ann's bedside holding a revolver, entreats Ann to make love with him. When he is yet again refused, Neal throws the weapon at Ann: "Then I'd rather you did away with me!" But before she has time to shoot him, he jumps on her. The shot whizzes past into the ceiling. Ann surrenders to Neal. Neal cries: "That's the stuff, Jack, write that down." Thirty-five similarly dramatic scenes capture the world of the legendary personalities of the beat generation - of course, from the viewpoint of today's "Generation X". Messy love affairs of Neil Cassady, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William S. Borroughs, with others and even among themselves, are an indivisible part of the time when the sexual revolution and rock'n'roll, literary experiments and experimentation with drugs, all started. Abstracted from their literary fame, the characters themselves go through grotesque situations which - shifted into a fast tempo - paradoxically became similar to poetry.
The play was given a riveting production on the stage of the Dejvice Theatre (where the central European hit, Petr Zelenka's Tales of Common Insanity originated), the world premiere being directed by Miroslav Krobot (15.10.2004). It has just been nominated for Alfréd Radok Award in the cathegory of Play of the Year.
"Apparently the origin of the Dejvice production was a fascination with how those picturesque, non-conformist personalities of our grandparents' generation managed to "load themselves". However, the anticipated success with the audience will also help to create an evocation of how those "truly blown" paid their price for their unusual life style- for there is, after a good supper, something titillatingly picturesque about sad ends and deep despair (...).
As the title indicates, elements of reality - parts of stories from books about the beat generation - are sliced by the dramatist into separate lighter and more tragic scenes, on slivers of merrier and desolate situations, of proclamations, emotions and feelings. These are freely combined and inserted by the sandwich method, and made more tasty by the addition of an attractive dressing. (...)"
Pavel Janoušek: "KFT/Proklatě dobré sendviče", Divadelní noviny no.18, 2.11.2004
"A less informed viewer doesn't have to be aware at all of what is going on, but this openness doesn't matter, rather the other way around. There remain sketchy possibilities and limits of a certain approach of certain people, indifferent as to specifically who. (...) Every scene is a very carefully structured number, for the most part reaching a surprising conclusion of unmasking; however, the linking of these numbers is very free. The ‘only' unifying point is this generation's sense of life."
Michal Čunderle: "Na cestě (k beatnikům a k sobě)", Svět a divadlo no. 6/2004