COMMANDER (by Farm in the Cave)

Andrea Pocosgnich

23 April 2025

Farm in the Cave is an ensemble originating from the Czech Republic, consistently striving for a dialogue between different means of expression. In the case of the 2022 performance presented at Spazio Rossellini thanks to the Orbita and ATCL initiatives (it was the second part of a two-part series dedicated to Farm in the Cave), the Commander in the title refers to the nickname of the leader of the Feuerkrieg Division, a neo-Nazi group active in Estonia between 2018 and 2020. Up to this point, it wouldn't have been particularly surprising – neo-Nazi groups are, unfortunately, a European reality – only in this case, it was an organisation dedicated to online recruitment of the very young, and its leader, Commander, was just 13 years old.So while the audience takes their seats in the Rossellini auditorium, a video of children in white shirts and ties – very fair-skinned, blonde, healthy and smiling – playing tag runs on a loop on a screen mounted on a block that dominates the stage. Yet there is something disturbing in their looks and in those perfect “Aryan” uniforms. Indeed, the following video of the boys' room is also disturbing: a video game controller hangs from the table, there is an aquarium; as well as another scene, in which children licking ice cream talk like adults about topics such as sex and death. The physical and musical score is extremely strong – it mimics war actions, battles, to the point of grotesque overload – alternating solos and group choreographies, the search focuses on gesture, violence and the relationship to live music and sound structure. The result is a complex and stunning performance, directed by Viliam Dočolomanský (it is part of a wider project on the subject, which also includes an educational component – videos and workshops), but it has nothing to do with documentary theatre: it forces the audience to immerse themselves in the story (even after watching it), to search for it in the tangle of images and allusions that make up the stage dramaturgy (e.g. the hundreds of falling cones towards the end, referring to the ice cream the children ate), in the constant intermingling of live performance and video.

Seen at Spazio Rossellini. Concept, direction and choreography by Viliam Dočolomanský. Dramaturgy: Sodja Lotker, Markéta Hrehorová. Music: Štěpán Janoušek. Video: Erik Bartoš, Sláva Pecháček, Karel Šindelář. Light design: Felice Ross. Sound design: Eva Svobodová. Performers: Andrej Štepita, Gioele Coccia, Nicolas Garsaults, Barbora Ješutová, Matuš Szegho, Hana Varadzinová, Štěpán Janoušek, Šimon Janák. In the video: Julian Hajduk Brown, Heřman Tajovský, František Souček, Tomáš Richard Brenton, Michal Vrubel, Kryštof Brož, Kryštof Koníček, Oliver Vyskočil, Mikuláš Rychetský and others. The project was co-financed by the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art and LOFFT - DAS THEATER, supported by the PPF Foundation, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the City of Prague, the European Solidarity Corps, the City of Leipzig - Cultural Department in partnership with O2 Smart School and Prague Music.

Source: https://www.teatroecritica.net/2025/04/commander-di-farm-in-the-cave/

Photo Courtesy: Orbita|Spellbound – photos Giuseppe Follacchio.