Commander

One evening – two works. One theme – two worlds. Movement theater with live music – and a film with child actors.

Online radicalization of children vs. immature behavior of society. The dynamic movement of performers, the pulse of live music, and unsettling images together create an extraordinary insight into the digital darkness that most of us are unaware of and perhaps do not even want to be aware of. Both works utilize dialogues taken from real chats of the extremist online group FKD, led by a thirteen-year-old boy under the profile "Commander." The film shifts conversations from the anonymity of chat rooms into the public space. Characters portrayed by talented child actors openly discuss sex, death, hatred, and killing in broad daylight. On stage, performers and musicians demonstrate how social networks and various ingrained behavioral patterns of our society subtly support polarization and radicalization. The evening is accompanied by a darkly chilling atmosphere that balances on the edge of absurdity, humor, tension, and unease. The production bears the unmistakable artistic signature of the company Farma v jeskyni. Both its parts – the movement and the audiovisual – were created by a creative team led by Viliam Dočolomanský. The internationally acclaimed theater company Farma v jeskyni combines physical theater, video, film, and live music into a cohesive artistic statement and has long been engaged in exploring contemporary and overlooked social issues. In 2022, the company celebrated its twentieth anniversary.