​site-specific performance

     "Have you ever thought about how many secrets the streets of your city hide?  What can you find the answer to in them?  How much inspiration, subjects are hidden in them?  Just such questions were brought up by Lukáš Zahy's performative walk under the title To seek the truth.  This is his first original performance, if we do not count his graduation solo Stenomúr (Wallinwall).

       Zahy states in the annotation that he has been researching the topic of truth for a long time and looking for answers to various questions such as whether truth exists at all, whether it can be objective or subjective, etc.  To present the results resulting from his creative research, he chose an atypical form, a site-specific performance.  The intention was to connect the theme of self-discovery, determination and self-formation with specific places, therefore Zahy invited the audience to a walk through Bratislava's Old Town.  (For those who couldn't attend, the entire walk was streamed on social media.) The route was very detailed and cleverly thought out.  It started at the Zochova bus stop, from there we proceeded towards the center around the Art Books Coffee area, the Church of the Holy Savior on Franciscan Square, the KC Dunaj and Old Market hall, through the underpass to Štúrova Street to the Danube.

       The beginning of the whole experience resembled a tourist-entertainment tour of the city.  We were introduced to several rules, which included the possibility to participate in the search for the truth.  In this case, it was not a direct interaction between the performer and the viewer, but rather between the city and the viewer.  The opening speech also included a request to be open and receptive, and if we don't understand something, we should stop the performer immediately.  During the entire route, Zahy told us personal stories that connected him to individual locations.  They were well-known places where probably everyone who lives, has lived or has been in Bratislava for a long time has been.  Each place had a personal memory, a social fact or an incident connected with the organization of the performance.  At the cafe, "KC-čku" and in the underpass, the performer told us important moments from his life: for example, his first homosexual experiences and memories of people who helped him discover his sexual orientation.   

        He found the truth about himself in those places, but he also offered us to look for ours, because the city has a great memory.  The performer also expressed himself significantly by means of movement stylization, somersaults or by climbing or climbing monuments.  The truth was sought everywhere, under the falling plaster of the wall, under the cars, in every hole and opening.  At each place, depending on the nature of the confession, Zahy left some artifact - a condom, if it was a personal memory, or he pasted a piece of paper with his opinion on cultural issues.

        A suggestive moment occurred when crossing the street where the executioner used to live.  It was then that Zahy started talking about the Holocaust as a historical fact that determines our present and future.  It is a historical wound that must be dealt with.  At the same time, he dealt with the issue of culture.  What exactly is it?  Is it all man made?  He left the definition up to us.  Let's create our own theory.  At the objects that belong to the Old Town - the Old Market or the passage on Náměstí Nežná revolucie - he told us about the organizational vicissitudes: how the regulations of the state hygienist and the misunderstanding of the city officials complicated the planning of the performative walk.  He expressed specific criticism of the bureaucratic regime, which is also part of our culture.  At the same time, he revealed the "truth" about the functioning of the state and the city. 

        Another important moment was at the Church of the Holy Savior on Franciscan Square.  The performer climbed into the vault of the church, and when he got to a sufficient height, he formed his body into positions similar to baroque poses, reminding, for example, statues of martyrs.  The performer could thus be perceived as a martyr of the 21st century.  Not only because he is a member of the queer community, which in our country is still excluded to the margins of society, but we can also perceive it in the context of a young person who is trying to change, but the past and the thinking of the nation do not allow him to do so.

        Zahy ended his walk on the embankment of the Danube.  The road there led past the Faculty of Philosophy of the Comenius University, where he connected the search for truth with his older solo Stenomúr.  In it, he deals with the topic of breaking stereotypes about the perception of homosexuality and once again reveals his own personal experience with a serious relationship.  Another path led directly to the Danube, where the performer symbolically washed away social labels.  When he came out of the water, he performed a very evocative choreography, which presented his true self, without the social layer.  At the end of the walk, there was also a thought: "It's not unethical to point the finger at someone."  In addition to the fact that the statement was also present on one of the posters for the performance, Zahy literally pointed his finger at every random passer-by at the end.

       Through 'To seek the truth, Lukáš Zahy brought burning topics with a view of society and a young person.  He showed how the social past and our personal decisions affect us and our behavior.  At the same time, according to him, it is not a shame to be different and exceptional, on the contrary, everyone should be sincerely open to otherness, and not just play on it." Adam Nagy

https://mloki.sk/apel-na-otvorenost/