We hear very little silence in public spaces, which will soon change thanks to the European Mime Fest: Thanks Milan Sládek. During four days filled with movement, emotions and playful non-verbal communication, unique troupes from France, Great Britain, Germany, the neighboring Czech Republic and Slovakia will present themselves to the domestic audience.
The original patron of the festival, the legendary mime and artist Milan Sládek, will oversee the new pantomime festival, which will take place from 28 to 31 May 2025 in Púchov, Považská Bystrica and Trenčín. After his unexpected departure, the position of artistic director of the festival was taken over by the prominent teacher, mime, choreographer and founder of the European Mime Federation, Adam Halaš from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.
That you don’t know what pantomime is. Or you know and think it’s boring. Come and see for yourself what diverse artistic performances and possibilities non-verbal theatre and pantomime offer at the same time. Amazing physical performances and acrobatics, unprecedented acting mimicry and a space beyond our intellectual understanding, which likes to play with our rationality and experience, will draw you into the silent stories of the best performers from all over Europe.
The festival will start in Púchov with a Slovak ritual folk dance called Ovčí zdych. Next will be performed by Familie Flöz from Germany, Compagnie Mangano-Massip from France, Radim Vizváry and Peter Biel from the Czech Republic, Pavol Seriš and Vlado Kulíšek from Slovakia, and the street theatre Circus Theater Vladimir from the Netherlands. The domestic scene will be represented by, for example, Radovan Michalov, who, together with the living sculptures Big Names, reached the final of Czech Republic, Slovakia has got talent and many other leading artists. Nola Rae from Great Britain will lead a special workshop for professionals at the festival. As part of the accompanying program, viewers in three cities will experience interactive exhibitions mapping the artistic career of Milan Sládek and much more.
Artistic director Adam Halaš unites the pantomime maestro: “Milan Sládek not only was, but will always be one of the most prominent figures in modern Slovak, but also Czech and European pantomime. He was a visionary, he loved classic pantomime, which he constantly revived and refreshed with other genres, he brought new impulses and was a constant seeker of new styles. Be it opera, work with masks, puppets, objects, material, overlaps into fine arts and his great organizational skills. Milan Sládek was timeless in his art of pantomime and rightfully ranks alongside Ladislav Fialka, Boris Hybner and Ctibor Turba among the most outstanding personalities of Czechoslovak pantomime.”
The festival’s project manager and director of the Podivný barón cultural center, Petra Pobežalová from Púchov, says: “We are pleased that we have managed to bring a pantomime festival to our city and region, even in such a complicated situation for culture, in which other important institutions from Považie cooperate in addition to those of Púchov. The idea arose on the occasion of the exhibition and performance of Milan Sládek, whose legacy we would like to celebrate and preserve in our region.”