120 OCHSEN

One myth, two productions, a theatrical exchange between Prague and Leipzig: the Schaubühne and the Prague theater Divadlo X10 are collaborating on a two-part project, with a Czech-directed world premiere in Leipzig and a German-directed world premiere in Prague, each in the local language. The stage version of the text "120 Oxen" by contemporary Czech author Ondřej Novotný can be experienced at the Schaubühne. German author and director Evy Schubert is staging her play "120 volů (120 Oxen)" at the Divadlo X10 theater in Prague . Our colleagues will celebrate the premiere in Prague on May 23, one week before the Leipzig premiere. Both productions will be presented together for the first time as a "theater diptych" at the Kutná Hora Performing Arts Festival (DFKH) on 20 September 2025.

To be seen at the Schaubühne:

120 OCHSEN
A national-mythological travesty

500 marks of silver and 120 oxen. This is the tribute that the Saxon Duke Henry the Fowler demanded from the Bohemian King Wenceslas so that he would not invade Bohemia with further war.

Tenth century. Wenceslas does not want to rule, he would rather read. But he must fight for the fate of his people. Elections are coming soon and who wouldn't want to keep the peace? Every year, a pile of silver and living flesh travel together from Bohemia to Saxony to preserve the sovereignty of the Bohemian nation. The story depicts the journey of these defenseless and clumsy creatures against the backdrop of a larger political context. The oxen long for foreign lands, but also for their homeland, they long for recognition, for self-determination. They no longer want to be just a herd. The story humorously reveals the weaknesses of both nations and the far-reaching Czech-German historical connections by mixing past, present and future.

Author: Ondřej Novotný
Translation: Martina Lisa
Director, stage design: Ondřej Štefaňák
Dramaturgy: Jana Startsev
Costumes: Maryna Ianina
Music: Christoph Rothmeier
Performance: Soheil Bohoumand, Verena Noll, Henry Sergeant
Assistant directors: John Bingaman, Rosanna Saacke
Technology: Henriette Albrecht, Benjamin Henkel
Production: Jennifer Krebs, Hannes Raetz

A co-production of the Schaubühne Lindenfels with the Prague theater Divadlo X 10.
Supported by the German-Czech Future Fund.