Kamenná, divná věc… – Verecká Tereza (2017)

The publication presents two significant dramatic texts by the new generation author Tereza Verecká. They are connected not only by the subordinate manual labor of both main characters but, above all, by the emphasis on absurdity and paradox in contemporary society. The first play, On the Stony, Stony Field (Job), which premiered in December 2015 at the Vinohrady Theatre in Prague, transposes the story of the ultimate test of faith that the Lord subjected His believer Job to, into a world where 'God is dead' and the Old Testament faith has been replaced by faith in humanity, society, and its unceasing development. Work and career – these are the values of the present. God stripped Job of his wealth, family, and health. Aťu, a tram driver degraded to a trackmaster, living with his old sick father, a weary wife, and a frustrated son in a crumbling family nest somewhere far away on the stony, stony field, is further deprived by Verecká of his job and all illusions. And when one day, amidst offers of advantageous loans and purchases, guides on career and life fulfillment, and a pile of bills, an enforcement order appears, Job receives his tragedy. In a world without fixed values, however, even this tragedy turns into a grotesque. The originally radio play Strange Thing, Strange… is also mournfully grotesque.