Programme
“For our pupils, this was one of the first steps in the topic of Czech post-war history. The step was not easy, just like the period when Josef Toufar was living. They appreciated the depth of the story, but they had a hard time dealing with the cruelty of Father Toufar’s fate. One girl asked a very telling question: ‘what was it that he had actually done wrong?’ (…) Maybe the way today’s young people take freedom and rule of law as a matter of course will be a guarantee that they won’t let it be taken from them.”
In this music drama workshop, the pupils and students follow in the footsteps of Josef Toufar (1902–1950), a priest in the village číhošť who was tortured to death by Communist State Security officers. They will consider the meaning of heroism, truth, sacrifice, and the overcoming of obstacles in the life of a person. Through the fates of the people connected with the “Číhošť Miracle”, they will get a picture of events of the 1950s in Czechoslovakia. In the first part, three paths leading to the mystery of the story will open up before the children. In the second part, they will join with musicians and actors and enter into the drama about the last days of Josef Toufar. The script was based on Miloš Doležal’s books As If We Should Die Today and A Step into the Dark Night. The narrative of the story is accompanied by projections of period photographs. After the second part of the performance, there is an opportunity for students’ questions and comments.
