Eighteen naked acrobats on stage? That wouldn’t work in Canada, says the principal

“At the end of Rest In Euphoria, there are eighteen performers on stage and they are naked. A Canadian promoter came and said how much he liked the performance, but that the final scene could not take place in Canada,” says Rosťa Novák Jr.

“Or when we played in America. The boys couldn’t be upstairs without, we had to give them costumes, and they had to be pink and orange. That was again dictated by an American agent,” recalls the principal of the famous new circus troupe, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary these days.

“These are the standards of individual countries. Then you will realize how great we are here. Here we can create absolutely freely. No one tells us if the costume should be like that, if there should be such music, if the performance should be 70 minutes long. In France, the ideal performance length is 70 to 75 minutes,” says Rosťa Novák Jr. in an interview for the Gallery of Personalities.

In fifteen years, 300 performers of twenty-five nationalities passed through his ensemble. According to Rosti Novák, the freedom of creation in the Czech Republic is one of the reasons why there is such interest in auditions for new members of La Putyka, even among foreign applicants.

In the interview, he talks very openly about how an alternative form of theater helps him manage his ADHD disorder, how his perception of culture and art changed during covid and after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and also about how he tried – in vain – to resist in his youth gender “predestination” to become a comedian, as he says. Rosťa Novák Jr. he is a descendant of the famous puppeteer family Kopecký in the eighth generation.

You can watch the entire interview here in audio or above as a video. Further in the text, we offer an edited written version.

Have you jumped on the trampoline today?

Not today. And I don’t even have much space anymore. My body can’t take it much anymore, I’ve crossed some age limit where I’m more in a chair than on a trampoline.

So you don’t even try anymore?

Sometimes I enjoy some adrenaline stunts. If he can jump from somewhere to somewhere, or throw someone somewhere from somewhere, then yes. I still have some strength, I can still do a simple somersault, but if I had to do a back somersault, not anymore.

But otherwise, it is said that the performers in Circus La Putyka have training sessions six times a week…

They work every day, only Mondays are free. We took that over from Germany, where we played 180 shows in a row, Mondays were off and Saturdays were played twice. It’s like an elite sport. Caring for the body, but also for the head, has recently become even more essential. Right now I am dealing with cooperation with a sports psychologist who should work with our artists. A person gets to the edge every day, takes risks.

So not only physical but also mental fatigue?

Our 18-year-old son is a top jumper in the Czech national team at the European Trampoline Jumping Championship, and a mental block is all it takes and you won’t even jump a simple somersault when you normally jump triple somersaults. When this happens at a height of seven meters and the head stops working, a very risky moment occurs, where it is not a common bump, a dislocated finger or a sprained ankle, but more serious injuries. The head plays a very important role there. Therefore, we are very busy with care and time – how much to devote to training, how much to rehearse… This is a new company.

And despite all the injuries and risks, is it worth it?

It is beautiful! I had the opportunity to try different theater forms, to experience filming – from series to films, to foreign productions, commercials… But for me, this is the freest art form that I had the opportunity to experience and try.

Who is Rosťa Novák Jr. (1979)

Now let’s get down to some introductory word ping pong. What do you think of when I say comedians?

My own family. This is what they were called in history – comedians. It’s not a derogatory word to me.

A very powerful personal experience. Today, ADHD sounds like a very modern name. It used to be called mild cerebral dysfunction. I’ve been struggling with this all my life: to find some new quality in that behavior disorder. It’s difficult, of course, especially for those around me. Hyperactivity, lack of concentration, various anxiety states, dyslexia, dysgraphia… Great physical expenditure, mood swings, from extreme joy to extreme sadness.

Did it lead you to what you do?

I was three years old when I was diagnosed by associate professor Matějíček, an icon of child psychology. I haven’t dealt with it all my life and have started dealing with it in the last few years. I did a show about it too. It’s, I guess, finding balance in some chaotic state of mind, but it’s a lifelong race.

The greatest experience. Experiencing Edinburgh is about humility, respect… A wonderful colorful festival. I’ve been there five times. It was a gateway to the world for us. (La Putyka performed for the first time at the Fringe, the world’s largest performing arts festival, in 2011, editor’s note)

“You can’t stop culture.” To bring culture to people in places where they may have forgotten it, to keep culture alive. An extension of our family. Covid has brought a lot of negative things to society. It showed us some strength and tenacity of the group and the people around us. Covid brought us an existential problem because we are 80 percent dependent on entrance fees, and suddenly that was not the case. And so we looked for a way to keep the company alive. We started opening new topics. The “You Can’t Stop Culture” project, which was created during covid, took us to places where I never thought we would play a theater show in my life. Just today, a project is needed in one metro station, it enlivens this public space.

For me, it’s actually every day that I get to spend with these people. I feel like an explorer. I discover new landscapes, new beauties of life. I actually experience euphoria every day at the exam.

What exactly is this “new circus”? Let’s introduce it.

I’m not a theater scholar and I usually resist the naming and the definition. The building block here is circus art. The traditional circus, dressage with animals, originated somewhere in the 18th century. “Contemporary Circus”, “new circus”, “fresh circus”, it has different definitions, so it was a reaction to where circus art has gone. Swedish, Finnish, French companies, all celebrating thirty, forty years of existence. For me, it’s a way of expressing myself through other means, where a somersault or manipulation of any object can also tell a story.