Tales of Common Insanity (Czech: Příběhy obyčejného šílenství) (2001) is a play by Petr Zelenka which won the Alfréd Radok Award for Best Play. After its opening in Prague, the play received productions in other Czech cities, as well as translations and productions in Slovakia, Kraków, Poland, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Germany, Hungary and Bulgaria, and it was translated into Russian (language). Zelenka wrote and directed a film adaptation of the comedy, which was released as Wrong Side Up in 2005 and was also highly successful.
The comedy centers around Peter, a bachelor in his mid-thirties. He desperately wants to win back his girlfriend Jana and asks his friend Midge for help. Midge, another loner unable to form a long-lasting relationship with a woman, has gone through many break-ups and therefore considered himself an expert. Petr also has to pay a visit to his discontented parents.
His mother ruined the family by endless preaching. She developed a strong passion for blood donation and gets alarmed by the war in Chechnya. The father, a former commentator of communist newsreel, escapes to his own thoughts. He is preoccupied with the idea of whether a light bulb would fit in a mouth. Peter's neighbour, a composer fighting hard to get royalties for performance of his music by synthesizers in elevators, also is revealed to be at least a bit insane.
The cast includes 8 male and 7 female characters. The character of Petr's pedophile boss is sometimes omitted.
The world premiere on 16 November 2001 and the opening months were directed by the playwright, Petr Zelenka. The play ran until 13 October 2009, staged at the Dejvické divadlo in Prague.
Petr .... Ivan TrojanJana ....Petr's mother .... Nina Divíšková (nominated for Thalia Award)Petr's father .... Miroslav Krobot (received Alfréd Radok Award in category Talent of the Year)Midge .... Martin MyšičkaAlice ....Sylvie .... Lenka KrobotováJirka ....Anna ....Aleš ....Figurine (Eva) ....Dancer ....1st Postman ....Directed by Václav Klemens.Petr .... Marek CisovskýJana .... Kristýna JanáčkováPetr's mother .... Zdena PrzebindováPetr's father .... Pavel CisovskýMidge .... Vladislav GeorgievAlice .... Renáta KlemensováSylvie .... Miroslava GeorgievováJirka .... Dušan ŠkubalAnna .... Tereza CisovskáAleš .... Josef KalužaFigurine (Eva) .... Lucie FinkováDancer .... Kristýna Janáčková1st Postman .... René ŠmotekDirected by Petr Štindl. The premiere at 24 April 2010, staged by Western Bohemian Theatre in Cheb.Petr .... Petr KonášJana .... Pavla JaniššováPetr's mother .... Eva NavrátilováPetr's father .... Pavel MarekMidge .... David BenešAlice .... Radmila UrbánkováSylvie .... Diana TonikováJirka .... Petr BatěkAnna .... Klára ŠtěpánkováAleš .... Martin JurajdaFigurine (Eva), Dancer .... Vladimíra VítováBoss in Work .... Jan ČížekSoldier, Man in Audicences .... Jindřich SkopecThe premiere at 1 November 2004 - 26 February 2004, staged by Southern Bohemian Theatre in Český Krumlov.Petr .... Pavel OubramJana .... Dana VerzichováPetr's mother .... Bibiana ŠimonováPetr's father .... Jan DvořákMidge .... Tomáš DrápelaAlice .... Lenka KrčkováSylvie .... Adéla Kubačáková KačerováJirka .... Roman NevěčnýAnna .... Daniela BambasováAleš .... Lukáš HejlíkFigurine (Eva) .... Věra HolláDancer .... Vladimíra VítováBoss in Work .... Martin Hruška / Jan KonrádMan in Audicences .... Jiří Hruška1st Postman .... Petr DrholecDirected by Tereza Růžičková. The premiere was 28 April 2005, Shadbold Centre for the Arts, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.Directed by Andrzej Celiński. Translated by Krystyna Krauze. The premiere was 16 November 2007. The Polish title is Opowieści o żwyczajnym szalenstwie.Petr .... Piotr PilitowskiJana .... Dominika MarkuszewskaPetr's mother .... Maja BarełkowskaPetr's father .... Krzysztof GóreckiMidge .... Jacek Wojciechowski / Tomasz SchimscheinerAlice .... Anna Maria Piróg-KaraszkiewiczSylvie .... Patrycja DurskaJirka .... Andrzej FranczykAnna .... Iwona SitkowskaAleš .... Jacek JoniecFigurine (Eva) .... Katarzyna TlałkaDancer .... Bernerdeta ZwierowskaBoss in Work .... Kajetan WolniewiczSoldier, Man in Audicences, Postman .... Piotr PiechaDivadlo Andreja Bagára, Nitra
Directed by Svetozár Sprušansk. Translate by Jana Beňová. The premiere 13 and 14 December 2002 in Andrej Bagár Theatre, Nitra. The Slovak title is Príbehy obyčajného šialenstva.Petr .... Milan OndríkJana .... Kristína TurjanováPetr's mother .... Adela GáborováPetr's father .... Ján GreššoMidge .... Juraj Hrčka / Martin FratričAlice .... Zuzana MoravcováSylvie .... Daniela KuffelováJirka .... Alexander BártaAnna .... Michaela ŠinkováVlado (Aleš) .... Peter GecíkEva .... Klaudia KolembusováDancer .... Katarína ZemanováBoss in Work .... Martin NahálkaPostmen .... Ernest Šmigura and Ján Greššo ml.Landestheater Tübingen, Deutschland
The premiere was 8 May 2009. The German title is Schrottengel.With: Danny Exnar (as Petr), Claudia Albrecht, Veronika Avraham, Katalyn Bohn, Raffaele Bonazza, Katja Gaudard, Hildegard Maier, Julienne Pfeil, Karlheinz Schmitt, Johannes Schön, Gotthard Sinn, Alexander Wenz Dauer: 180 min. (1 Pause).
The play was later staged in Poland (Teatr Dramatyczny in Warszawa), Hungary (Katona József Theatre in Budapest), as well as in several other Czech theatres. It was also translated into Russian.
In 2005, Zelenka wrote and directed a loose film adaptation, released as Wrong Side Up.
Published in 2002 by Theatre Institut, ISBN 80-7008-133-3 (translated by Robert Russell)