Cardinal Stritch Offers Heroic and Absurdist ‘The Last Cyclist’

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The first person says:

“The Jews and the cyclists are responsible for all of our misfortunes!”

The second asks: “Why the cyclists?”

To which a third counters: “Why the Jews?”

In 1944, a young Czech playwright named Karel Švenk questioned his Nazi oppressors from a stage in a concentration camp at Terezín (or Theresienstadt as the Germans called it). They murdered him a year later, but his allegorical work The Last Cyclist has been revived, rejuvenated and reinterpreted.

After its dress rehearsal, the play was banned by the Council of Jewish Elders for fear of Nazi retaliation due to references to the irrational behavior of the play’s dictator. The unmistakably satirical script was thought to be lost forever. Then in 1961, Jana Šedová, a surviving member of The Last Cyclist’s original cast, reconstructed the play from memory. That version of the play has since been performed only once. Now, however, Cardinal Stritch University has taken up the challenge to stage Naomi Patz’ reconstruction and reimaging of The Last Cyclist.

Director Mark Boergers first learned of the play in 2017. “Dan Haumschild (Holocaust Education Fellow for both Cardinal Stritch University and Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center) brought it to me. At first glance, I was skeptical about the piece, because I was unsure we could delve into the complexity of the message with just student artists,” he says. “However, when I began to learn more about the script and what it represented for the inmates who wrote it, the project became something I really wanted to challenge myself to complete. With HERC’s support, we were able to hire professional actors to work alongside our students, and that rehearsal mixture has been rich with fodder to work through this multi-layered production.”

Themes That, Unfortunately, Still Resonate

The themes, topics and events of The Last Cyclist continue to resonate today. Fear, hate and xenophobia have yet to be eradicated. Art remains an agent for change in society. According to Boergers, “one of the most powerful aspects of this play is that it is based from the artistic work of inmates in the camp. The fact that, after long days in horrible conditions, their spirits were fed by artistic pursuits is extremely inspiring to me. In addition, the kind of work they produced is highly scathing but also satirical and laced with biting comedy, which may not be the first emotions one would expect. Our production seeks balance depicting the terrible conditions they were forced to endure but also to portray the limitless bounds of their artistic expression and dreams.

“Comedy and art provide interesting in-roads to difficult discussions. One of the most important functions of theater is to inspire discussion and dialogue. Theater has the power to use story, emotion and aesthetic to achieve this outcome, and it is always amazing to me how many doors can be opened through its performance.”

The history of The Last Cyclist is different than most plays, and the subject matter offers unique challenges. It holds up a mirror to society. “The Last Cyclist is quite a challenging piece mostly because of all the layers to its resonance,” Boergers says. “The piece depicts the horrors of the Holocaust but also presents a comedic, farcical and satirical storyline with deep political and social resonance. In addition, the play represents the resilient spirit of the actors who created it, as well as the overall role of art in resistance in the face of human atrocity.

“The play-within-a-play of The Last Cyclist is an extremely intellectual and absurd satire with many layers of comedy. It has been our job as artists to trace the story line and characters in this absurd world with an eye toward the very real society the actors were commenting on. At the same time, our aesthetic for the show has to balance both the historical realities of the time period and conditions in which the play was written, while also contextualizing the story amongst the global theme of limitless artistic creativity as a means to express thought. It has been an extremely illuminating process.”

Reviving a play can be a tricky proposition. While Boergers has some latitude, he also shoulders the responsibility of being caretaker of the surviving material from the original work. Boergers and his cast members are links in the chain—voices further interpreting the play. “The question of latitude is a great one,” he says. “This particular script comes from many sources, as the author has re-imagined the script and contextualized it with scenes penned to place these actors in the camp.” He feels that his team has a great responsibility—not only to the script but also to anyone affected by the Holocaust.

‘Art is Powerful Stuff’

“However, very early on in our meetings, it became clear to us that it was imperative that we filter the play through our own artistic lens and utilize all our artistic resources and craft in the creation of this play,” he continues. “We felt this would be the ultimate respect and homage to the original artists, who were themselves utilizing artistic craft to make some sense of a senseless time. As we interpret the play, we begin to have an even more personal connection to it, and it is our hope that the audience will feel the same way.”

Artists take chances all the time, but a thinly veiled anti-fascist play staged in a concentration camp? It is daunting to think what Karel Švenk and the original actors might have been thinking in taking on this project. Boergers thinks “the gist of it is that this play gave them lift and fueled them. It made them stronger. It made them feel accomplished and that they were doing something. Art is powerful stuff. The creation is just as important as the presentation of it. That’s probably why the play was shut down and definitely why we need to do it today.”

April 5-14 at Nancy Kendall Theater, 6801 N. Yates Road. For tickets, visit stritch.edu.