Performance “Happy hour” | Czech Republic
Creator: Jan Mocek
Concept, direction, stage design: Jan Mocek
Music: Matouš Hekela
Creation and performance: Tinka Avramova, Irina Andreeva, Arseniy Mikhaylov
Sound design, lighting: Ondřej Růžička
Consultations: Sodja Lotker
Photography: Martin Špelda
Teaser: Radim Labuda
Production: Táňa Švehlová, SixHouses z.s
Premiere: October 30 2023, Alfred ve dvoře, Praha
Date: August 29, 2025 | Friday
Time: 7 pm
Place: Stage, Art Factory in Łódź, 3 Tymienieckiego Street
Tickets: 40 PLN - early bird / 50 PLN - reduced / 70 PLN - regular
Ticket sales: kicket.com portal / online payment
Early bird tickets: on sale until July 13, 2025
Regular and reduced tickets: on sale from July 14, 2025
Duration: 55 minutes
Age Restrictions: 12+
Language: non-verbal
Content Warning: polystyrene panels are used in the performance, and the sound of polystyrene often can be heard
After the performance, around 8:00 pm, we invite the viewers to a meeting and discussion with the artists.
The discussion will take place in the Foyer of the Art Factory in Łódź.
The discussion will be led by Tomasz Domagała.
The discussion will be held in English and translated into Polish.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PERFORMANCE
The three performers on stage resemble us. They may be humans or robots alike. Who can tell the difference? With them is a pile of 150 white polystyrene panels. All artificial but not intelligent. Yet.
“Happy Hour” is a performative Minecraft session inspired by the current buzz around artificial intelligence. An exercise in pointless progress offering a glimpse into an uncanny world that we created but cannot master. A meditation on the possibilities of humankind in the twilight of human exclusivity.
Step by step, the frenetic activity of the performers results in increasingly complex structures being built and demolished on stage. They always resemble something specific: a swamp, a lake, a cemetery, a glacier, a tower, a temple, a fortress… But as soon as you can identify them, they are already being dismantled and replaced by new constructions. Is it an analogy of the rise and the fall of human civilization? Are we watching the exploitation of human culture by AI? Is this what the neural networks learning process looks like? And does it all make at least some sense?
We are left in silence. Nobody to answer our questions, no dialogue to be taken. Not heard, not needed, we are not in the centre anymore.
REVIEWS
“Happy Hour” offers a refined blend of humour and depression.”
(Lucie Kocourková, Theatre Journal)
“Without pomp, “Happy Hour” offers such a massive parallel to human civilization that it fogged up my glasses. Mind you, I didn’t even take them out of my pocket.”
(Martin Špetlík, Lighting Designer)
INFORMATION ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Jan Mocek - is a theatre maker, based in Prague. In his work he mixes elements of pop culture, politics, and personal experience, to speak about the times we are living in. In other words, he sees gold where everyone else smells shit. His main concern in theatre work is to open up difficult themes with all their ambiguities, while offering pure distilled doses of beauty. Mocek’s work has been presented at national and international festivals and venues, among them: Komuna Warszawa, Toplocentrala, Fast Forward Dresden, Rehearsal for Truth NYC, Submerge Digital Arts Festival Bristol, and 4+4 Days in Motion Prague. Jan Mocek is a member of IN-SITU - European Platform for Artistic Creation in Public Space.
SixHouses - is a production platform directed by Táňa Švehlová, it provides complex production support for Jan Mocek's projects.
