Poster
Miroslav Horníček / 2019
TWO MEN IN CHECK DVA MUŽI V ŠACHU
A conversational comedy about honour,
stubbornness and a game that only love can win.
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“I would rather say
they both lost.
As in every war.”
Bianca | Two Men in Check
About the production
Miroslav Horníček’s Two Men in Check is a conversational comedy about honour, male pride, an absurd war and a game in which far more is at stake than victory alone.
In a remote corner of sunny eighteenth-century Italy, two hostile noblemen and officers — Marcello and Giacomo — hold one another in check inside an ordinary stable. Both are prisoners and jailers, victors and defeated men, and both are utterly convinced that their own sense of honour is the only right one.
Into their world of titles, sabres, wounded dignity and absurd principles step Bianca and Giulietta. With smiles, wine, food, feminine wit and common sense, they begin a game of their own — and it soon becomes clear that those holding the weapons are not the ones truly in control.
Project dossier
Author
Miroslav Horníček
Year
2019
Direction
& text adaptation Otto Weiss
& text adaptation Otto Weiss
Production
NA ROHU U NÁS z.s.
the original creative company from which
the WEISS ART PRODUCTION brand grew
Premiere venue
Nižbor
Genre
Conversational comedy
The world of the production
One stable, two stalls, straw underfoot, a hand-painted curtain and a world in which an ordinary space became a living game of honour, humour and human stubbornness.
01
Production
The production process was built on simplicity, precision and atmosphere. A handful of basic elements created a space capable of carrying the entire story — a stable, two stalls, a crate instead of a table, straw, light and the rhythm of the Italian countryside.
02
Scenography
The set began with a single stable but functioned as a living organism. Two stalls, beams, a hand-painted curtain and ever-present straw created a space that could transform with the situations, relationships and changing mood of the production.
03
Costumes
The costumes combined the women’s rustic lightness with the flamboyance of two aristocratic officers. White blouses, red and brown skirts, blue and crimson coats, wigs, sabres and a pilgrim’s robe created a clear visual world of comedy and social roles.
04
Direction
The directing concept gave space to the dialogue, the rhythm of duels and interrogations, and the women’s sense of perspective. Scenes shifted through freezes, transitions and the hand-painted curtain, which separated not only locations but also the characters’ inner moods.
05
Lighting
The lighting evoked the warmth of the Italian countryside and the stable’s morning and evening moods, while creating intimacy for conversations and a ceremonial frame for the finale. Lanterns, soft side lighting and warm tones transformed the simple space into a fully realised theatrical world.
Gallery
Fragments of sunny Italy, chess, sabres and smiles that remained in play after the final applause.
The Company
The people who set in motion a game full of honour, stubbornness,
wine and feminine wit.
Creative Team
Playwright
Miroslav Horníček
Direction & text adaptation
Otto Weiss
Choreography
Jan Kravec
Set design
Ing. Arch. Pavel Šejna
Costumes
Dagmar Vozdecká, Marta Nejedlá, Otto Weiss
Music
Band Tradizionale Italiana
Music arrangements
Slávek Glaser
Lighting design
Jan Kravec & Otto Weiss
Assistant director & production
Eliška Jirásková
Cast
Bianca
Magdalena Hučková
Giulietta
Dagmar Vozdecká
Giacomo Campo Forte de la Signoria
Otto Weiss
Marcello della Torre dei buon Fratelli
Jan Kravec
Pilgrim
Jiří Zajíc
Two men fight for honour, two families for the final word — while two women quietly begin a game of their own with a smile. In this comedy, the greatest weapon is not the sabre, but reason, perspective and the ability to bring stubborn men back to life.
Press Kit
Posters, production concepts and visual studies,
that set an Italian game of honour, humour and feminine wit in motion.
Costume designs
Set design
The production’s visual identity is built on the contrast between Italian lightness and a vain male war. The poster, production boards and creative concepts capture the world of a chess game in which sabres meet smiles, honour meets reason, and two women quietly move the pieces of the entire story.
Every game ends.
Every game eventually comes to an end.
The question is who was really moving the pieces.
Checkmate?
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