The story of two girls whose lives are turned upside down, told using comic book techniques with elements of movie gangsters, in the first Czech rap musical.
"Those who want to bounce back have to hit rock bottom. But what if he or she falls into the mud of small-town life there? We offer a rhythmic guide to getting out with a song on your lips." - Jan Hanzlík, co-author
"We should realize that life is great!" - Tomáš Dianiška, co-author and director
Two rather impractical girls, Anna and Dáša, are looking for a roommate under the weight of their financial situation, and they end up choosing an inconspicuous boy from Zlín among the potential candidates. But their seemingly sensible decision unexpectedly turns their lives upside down. When they find a strange package in their backpack, a confluence of situations leads them into the drug underworld and even forces them to join a gang war. The relationship between the two girls is put to the ultimate test; they must try to save each other and choose between bad and worse.
Will they be able to pull through?
"It's a raucous comedy with lots of twists and turns about what can happen when you need to raise a lot of money fast. We all imagine at times what would happen if we suddenly, illegally, fabulously got rich and how we would behave in the face of mortal danger. We'll show you so you don't have to get into that," says director Tomáš Dianiška, adding that he started out in Liberec years ago and had a rap band himself. Now we've put together a full, packed line-up and the musical is here! Pure joy."
The raucous comedy Night of the Broken Nails was written by Lenka Veverková, Jan Hanzlík and Tomáš Dianiška, who also directed. They were inspired by the audio series Snowdrops and Gangsters, which they significantly reworked for the theatrical release. The first domestic rap musical will be staged in its world premiere at Prague's Divadlo pod Palmovkou.
The Night of Broken Nails combines rap, humour, controversy and suspense to offer the viewer an extremely intense experience. The rap songs for the production were written by Kato aka Def aka Deph, frontman of Prago Union, former head of the cult group Chaozz and an important representative of the Czech rap scene and DJ. The stage in Libeň will feature a live band with the proven line-up of Jakub Hlobil, Jan Nikendey and Sebastian Lang. Under the direction of the award-winning Tomáš Dianiška, the cast will include not only the stalwarts of the Divadlo pod Palmovkou ensemble - Ivana Wojtylová, Jan Teplý, Martin Němec and Jaroslav Blažek and a rare guest actor Karolína Baranová - but also new talents who have succeeded in the acting audition: Kateřina Hrdinová, Lucie Michálková, Teodor Dlugoš and Tomáš Vardan reinforced by the experienced Peter Reif.
World premiere: 20 September 2024
Running time: 2 hours 10 minutes, including intermission
The show is suitable for ages 15 and up.
The performance uses a strobe light.
