Czech Radio Awarded the First Prize at the International Festival ´PRIX MARULIĆ´
Czech Radio has been awarded the first prize in the category ´Drama´ at the 13th international festival Prix Marulić taking place at Hvar island in Croatia. The winning drama was a compiled theatre play ´Woyczek´, originally written by a German author from the 19th century Georg Bűchner and translated into Czech by Ludvík Kundera. The radio version was created by the author Hynek Pekárek, directed by Aleš Vrzák, and the sound designer and the composer of the scenic music was Michal Rataj.
There were 28 countries from the whole world participating in this years´ Prix Marulić, the Czech Republic was followed on the winner's rostrum by Great Britain (BBC) and Germany (SWR) sharing the second place. The award is even more significant for Czech Radio as the previous successful play that would receive such a high acclaim was a play that won Prix Italia in 1969, meaning 40 years ago.
Aleš Vrzák cast in the lead roles of the play ´Woyczek´, which was broadcasted by Czech Radio 3 - Vltava in its programme series ´Radio Stage´ on the 7th March 2009, the following actors - Martin Finger, Magdaléna Borová, Jaroslav Plesl, Simona Babčáková, Rudolf Pellar, Ladislav Frej, Václav Vydra, and others. Milan Křivohlavý was the sound master, Dominik Budil the recording technician, Dana Reichová the producer. The director of the play also invited Eliška Závodná to co-operate on the programme.
Woyczek, soldier and barber, is a man of a poor mental and material state, who is continuously lamed by both the service to dubious authority as well as by inhuman medical experiments. The only fulfilment of his life is his relationship with Maria and a child that they are upbringing. However, Woyczek, the outlaw of the omnipresent cruel reality as well as of his own anxieties and wrath, is driven by Maria's adultery to a desperate deed.
"During the debates about the play, it was highly evaluated the way we had coped with the text, which was never finished by Bűchner, and also the compilation of the script. The performance of the actors received a high appraisal, the direction and especially the sound design, that was produced by Michal Rataj, were praised in superlatives," said Hynek Pekárek, the script editor of the play who has also attended the festival.
Czech Radio does not send its programmes to international competitions and festivals (Prix Marulić, Prix Italia, Prix Europe, and others) randomly, but they are rather chosen via a careful selection procedure. In 2008, Richard Medek, Czech Radio Programming Director, has appointed a committee that is assessing the nominated programmes produced by Czech Radio and selects them based not only on the quality but also on the criteria of they suit the nature of the particular festival. The committee, summoned by the Czech Radio Chief Producer, consists of Czech Radio employees who participate in international festivals on a regular basis and, thus, are very familiar with the way and conventions according to which the programmes are assessed and evaluated at these festivals.
"I was delighted to hear especially the appraisal from directors and colleagues from prestigious European and international radio houses. After a long time, this is a great honour for Czech Radio, and it confirms the course Czech Radio chose in the area of direction and sound design," said the director of the winning play Aleš Vrzák.
Ing. Eva Tichá
Spokesperson of Czech Radio
Tel. +420 22 155 1301, Mobile: +420 777 879 877