History
Slzy Janka Borodáča [The Tears of Janko Borodáč] emerged after the dissolution of the Prešovské národné divadlo [National Theatre Prešov], active between 2013–2021. Playwright Michaela Zakuťanská and director Júlia Rázusová (stage productions include “Single Radicals”; “Good Place to Die;” or “The Day When Gott Died”), unite in an intergenerational collaboration through their work and have primarily explored the everlasting feud between the East and West of Slovakia, pinpointing the divergent standard of living in the country.
In 2019, director Júlia Rázusová and actor Petr Brajerčík, both of the Prešovské národné divadlo [National Theatre Prešov], introduced the co-authored monodrama “Moral Insanity”, which delves into pressing issues of anti-Semitism and conspiracy theories. In 2020, the piece “Kramerová vs. Kramer” mapped the process of gradual change in perception of partnerships in relation to the “patchwork family”. Over the course of its active years PND has won several awards for the concept of the theatre and its works and performed its productions at various theatre festivals in Slovakia and abroad.
Present
In 2020, director Júlia Rázusová and theatre manager Linda Durkáčová founded the theatre collective Slzy Janka Borodáča [The Tears of Janko Borodáč], SJB, an independent ensemble based in Prešov, Slovakia. The group name refers to the founder of Slovak professional theatre, Janko Borodáč, provoking a dialogue between tradition and progress in the contemporary world and in Slovak theatre. In SJB, we provide an active space for theatre creation and creativity in the East of Slovakia. In our work, we focus on enhancing a direct and deep director–actor collaboration that stimulates both the societal attitude of the creators and exploration of new perspectives of creation. In September 2022, the group's first production “Pop Animal”, inspired by psychological experiments and an investigation of situational influence and pressure on humans, premiered. In addition to theatre–production work, the SJB group has also been defined by its educational activities: exploring of progressive acting techniques through blogs and hosting workshops for theatre professionals and students.