The first ever FZU Theater Days were part of the Open Days at the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences at Slovanka. Over the course of two days, five performances of various genres were presented, demonstrating that events combining science and art have the potential to appeal to audiences of all ages, from experts to the general public.
On Friday morning, FameLab finalists presented their scientific topics in the form of stand-up comedy, with exactly three minutes to do so. The performances were followed by a joint discussion, during which the youngest audience members in particular asked our performers some very tricky questions. This was followed by a one-man show by scientist and actor Ondřej Lidický, Mr. Tumor, in which he explained the origin and progression of cancer with black humor and perspective. After the performance, there was a debate with scientists from Ask a Scientist. The evening belonged to the premiere of the play Marťané (The Martians), written especially for the theater days by our colleague Julie Nekola Nováková. Miroslav Táborský gave a unique portrayal of Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard. The one-act play was immediately followed by a moderated discussion with Miroslav Táborský and Michael Prouza, director of the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
On Saturday afternoon, a unique project called Trip to a Black Hole, co-authored by particle physicist Jiří Hejbal, showed what the dance of elementary particles and cosmic objects might look like. The first FZU Theater Days culminated with Michael Frayn's award-winning drama Kodaň (Copenhagen), directed by Jakub Špalek. The suspenseful story reconstructed the situation in 1941, when leading nuclear physicists Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg met in secret. For their performance of the play, which is considered one of the highlights of late 20th-century drama, the actors from the Kašpar theater company received a well-deserved standing ovation in the packed A. Kochanovská Hall.
"We strive to seek out and support popularization projects and activities that are bold and innovative in some way, that seek new ways to bring science closer to the public, and that connect science with other areas of human activity. This year's Theater Days at the Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences fit in very well with this, and we were very happy to support them. And as a visitor, I must say that they met and exceeded my expectations," said Dušan Brinzanik, director of the IOCB Tech Foundation, which provided financial support for the FZU Theater Days.
We would also like to thank the management of the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences for their support, and we look forward to what the next year of the project brings.
Photo: The Week of the Czech Academy of Sciences (FameLab), Hana Görlichová (The Martians)
