Buried Child
Sam Shepard
Buried Child
Sam Shepard, a classic of modern American drama of the 20th century, received the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in 1979 for his most famous play Buried Child. At the time, the author surprised audiences with a highly personal and original work, while remaining firmly rooted in the context of world drama’s development.
This unconventional, suspenseful, and mysterious play is set in rural Illinois, amid parched fields, in a world where time seems to have stopped.
At its center lies the generational change on a family farm—within a harsh, peculiar reality and a gradual, almost detective-like uncovering of what has long been hidden within the family. Shepard aimed to create a play that defied conventions: engaged, metaphorical, yet entertaining. His seemingly ordinary characters live estranged lives, as if trapped in an existential nightmare. And yet—they live!
Shepard’s work was influenced by the alternative culture of the 1960s, by O’Neill, Beckett, Peter Brook, and Joseph Chaikin, founder of the Open Theater, to whom Buried Child is dedicated. His plays offer a new—one might say unsettling—perspective on America. Shepard stands apart through his humor, satire, and distinctive language. His protagonists are mostly aimless wanderers, hopelessly caught between the past and a mechanized present.
Creators
- Translation:
- Jiří Popel
- Director:
- Adam Doležal
- Dramaturgy:
- Zdeněk Janál
- Výprava:
- Agnieszka Pátá Oldak
- Hudba:
- Petr Zeman
- Světelný design:
- Antonín Pfleger
- Inspice:
- Martin Chmelař
- Nápověda:
- David Kubát
Prersons and actors
- Dodge:
- Pavel Pavlovský
- Halie:
- Monika Švábová
- Tilden:
- Martin Stránský
- Bradley:
- Jan Maléř
- Shelly:
- Eliška Vocelová
- Vince:
- Vladimír Pokorný
- Otec Dewis:
- Miloslav Krejsa
Photos from the production
Photo author: Irena Štěrbová
Title partners
