Privatization

About

 “What would I buy for my first billion?!”

The “voucher privatization” (post-communist distribution of vouchers to the general public to bring private capital into state-owned companies) laid the foundations for the current structure of socioeconomic and political forces in the public sphere, affected hundreds of thousands of lives, and became a cornerstone of the modern myth about regained freedom. Many personal stories about the voucher privatization involve a  fairy-tale motif “What if”: – “What life could I have if I had chosen a different investment strategy?” – “How would I live had my parents become wealthy back then?” – “What if grandpa left the hidden stock of shares?”... The concepts of voucher and general privatization reflect the global and individual histories of the Czech Republic and of each of its citizens. The stories behind voucher privatization brought about dreams and desire for freedom, naivety, and ruthless family disputes over power and property. The turbulent “tale of the new National Revival” hardly left any time for the people to concentrate on themselves, perceive themselves as living beings, sense their growth limits, and consciously embrace their mortality.

The production, partly documentary and partly fictional, created with the actors’ strong involvement, thus focuses on the fate of one particular character, Petr Kellner. Indeed, one of the well-known stories associated with voucher privatization ends in a tragic helicopter crash. At the peak of lockdown, a man dies at the top of a remote glacier, where his rocket success in the 1990s brought him. His life ends in absolute silence and isolation, wherein he wished to hide from public view. How is it possible that despite the decades of unsolicited media attention and endless questions about “the source and effects of his astronomical wealth on his life”, no one hears him at the moment of his death...

The original production Privatization is based on interviews, memories, and testimonies of people who were affected by the activities of PPF Group in one or another way, of Petr Kellner’s acquaintances, and of those who followed his career and life. Petr Kellner’s story is the true reflection of privatization, and our production indeed narrates about the privatization of one human life, rather than about the privatization in general.

Official photos: Martin Špelda

WARNING: The audience is seated on an elevation on the stage without the ability to lean back, so seating can be less comfortable. The performance is not suitable for disabled viewers with limited mobility or using wheelchairs. We use smoke machine, strobe light and vulgar language during the performance. 

We would like to thank especially Vojtěch Boháč – for his consultation and valuable advice he gave us during the preparation of the production. We would also like to thank ZEĎ Publishing House, Jan Dražan and Jan Pergler, from whose book KELLNER we drew, among others, and all the other respondents who shared their experiences and stories with us. We firmly believe that people who refused to share their experiences with us will be willing to share them in the future.