PERFORMANCE DETAIL

Stage director Vojtěch Štěpánek

Marie Antoinette, the daughter of Maria Theresa, was married to the young French king Louis XVI unite two European powers and great ruling families—the Habsburgs and the Bourbons. Therefore, a girl from a strictly Theresian background found herself in the pompous court of the Palace of Versailles at the age of fifteen. Soon, she had mastered the manners of the court, where she became a rococo icon, queen of fashion, luxury, and profligate waste. She was known for the most exquisite wigs, dresses, and disposable jewellery. The queen's extravagance contrasted with the rising poverty of the French people, making her a symbol of all vice and waste and one of the most important fuses of the French Revolution. And just as swiftly as fate had carried Marie Antoinette to the pinnacle of fame and admiration, it also plunged her into hatred and disgrace, replacing the royal chambers and gilded carriage with a dungeon and execution. Life of a woman thus mirrors the tumultuous historical events that reshaped Europe and gave birth to the modern republic. A gripping tale that ends with the chilling hiss of the falling guillotine.

Premieres on 11 March 2023 at the Antonín Dvořák Theatre