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 Trojan
Jana ....
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 Myšička
Alice ....
Sylvie .... Lenka Krobotová
Jirka ....
Anna ....
Aleš ....
Figurine (Eva) ....
Dancer ....
1st Postman ....
Directed by Václav Klemens.
Petr .... Marek Cisovský
Jana .... Kristýna Janáčková
Petr's mother .... Zdena Przebindová
Petr's father .... Pavel Cisovský
Midge .... Vladislav Georgiev
Alice .... Renáta Klemensová
Sylvie .... Miroslava Georgievová
Jirka .... Dušan Škubal
Anna .... Tereza Cisovská
Aleš .... Josef Kaluža
Figurine (Eva) .... Lucie Finková
Dancer .... Kristýna Janáčková
1st Postman .... René Šmotek
Directed by Petr Štindl. The premiere at 24 April 2010, staged by Western Bohemian Theatre in Cheb.
Petr .... Petr Konáš
Jana .... Pavla Janiššová
Petr's mother .... Eva Navrátilová
Petr's father .... Pavel Marek
Midge .... David Beneš
Alice .... Radmila Urbánková
Sylvie .... Diana Toniková
Jirka .... Petr Batěk
Anna .... Klára Štěpánková
Aleš .... Martin Jurajda
Figurine (Eva), Dancer .... Vladimíra Vítová
Boss in Work .... Jan Čížek
Soldier, Man in Audicences .... Jindřich Skopec
The premiere at 1 November 2004 - 26 February 2004, staged by Southern Bohemian Theatre in Český Krumlov.
Petr .... Pavel Oubram
Jana .... Dana Verzichová
Petr's mother .... Bibiana Šimonová
Petr's father .... Jan Dvořák
Midge .... Tomáš Drápela
Alice .... Lenka Krčková
Sylvie .... Adéla Kubačáková Kačerová
Jirka .... Roman Nevěčný
Anna .... Daniela Bambasová
Aleš .... Lukáš Hejlík
Figurine (Eva) .... Věra Hollá
Dancer .... Vladimíra Vítová
Boss in Work .... Martin Hruška / Jan Konrád
Man in Audicences .... Jiří Hruška
1st Postman .... Petr Drholec
Directed 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 Pilitowski
Jana .... Dominika Markuszewska
Petr's mother .... Maja Barełkowska
Petr's father .... Krzysztof Górecki
Midge .... Jacek Wojciechowski / Tomasz Schimscheiner
Alice .... Anna Maria Piróg-Karaszkiewicz
Sylvie .... Patrycja Durska
Jirka .... Andrzej Franczyk
Anna .... Iwona Sitkowska
Aleš .... Jacek Joniec
Figurine (Eva) .... Katarzyna Tlałka
Dancer .... Bernerdeta Zwierowska
Boss in Work .... Kajetan Wolniewicz
Soldier, Man in Audicences, Postman .... Piotr Piecha
Divadlo 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 Ondrík
Jana .... Kristína Turjanová
Petr's mother .... Adela Gáborová
Petr's father .... Ján Greššo
Midge .... Juraj Hrčka / Martin Fratrič
Alice .... Zuzana Moravcová
Sylvie .... Daniela Kuffelová
Jirka .... Alexander Bárta
Anna .... Michaela Šinková
Vlado (Aleš) .... Peter Gecík
Eva .... Klaudia Kolembusová
Dancer .... Katarína Zemanová
Boss in Work .... Martin Nahálka
Postmen .... 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)
