Undoubtedly, David Drábek’s return to the Olomouc Moravian Theatre may well be considered as “the return of the prodigal son”. Twenty years after the end of the Flaming Giraffe Studio (Studio Hořící žirafy), Drábek’s unmistakable poetics and unique sense of humour will occupy our stage once again.
The former long-standing art director of the Klicpera Theatre in Hradec Králové and multiple winner of the Alfréd Radok Prize, who started his illustrious artistic career here in Olomouc, returns with his own comedy detective mystery called Sherlock Holmes: The Bearded Lady Murders.
This time the world-famous detective comes up against a bestial murderer whose victims are exclusively female members of a bizarre religious sect that resides at a gloomy mediaeval castle in the middle of the moors. Under the auspices of their patron, the Pleading Sisters of St. Mayor from Topsham associate women who have been hurt by men. Consequently, they demonstrate their feminist opinions by wearing fully grown beards, either real beards given to them by God or mere false ones on an elastic band. The number of dead bearded women is continually growing and Holmes and Dr. Watson are running out of time.
Fans of this Victorian detective will enjoy this, even though it is a purely original Holmes story. The darkly devilish case is lightened by typical English humour that is as encouraging as a delicious Earl Grey and served with a good dose of Drábek’s surrealism.
Undoubtedly, David Drábek’s return to the Olomouc Moravian Theatre may well be considered as “the return of the prodigal son”. Twenty years after the end of the Flaming Giraffe Studio (Studio Hořící žirafy), Drábek’s unmistakable poetics and unique sense of humour will occupy our stage once again.
