Memories of past times, which Irena Dousková, the author of the novel and
the dramatization, records with irony and naïveté, looking at
Husák's normalization period through the eyes of an eight-year-old girl.
This is a child's charming view, in which even the worst is not as bad as that
and faith has not yet become an empty word. The oppressive atmosphere of the era
is made less weighty but no less awkward. Do you remember? The Bratislava Lyre
pop song contest, Spartakiad mass gymnastics displays, agricultural
cooperatives, infant pioneers and cadre reports? The stage production will
remind you of all the absurdity of the totalitarian system. The play lacks
neither laughter nor tears, and your heart will be wrenched while you still have
a smile on your lips.
…Helena is the focus of the play, so the entire weight of the production rests
on the shoulders of actress Barbora Hrzánová. But she carries it as lightly as
her school satchel. Whether she is in wellies, a bobble hat or a coat fastened
all askew, she still looks like a Polish Jew. Her comedy is not limited to her
dreadful appearance. she can also play childish guilelessness, naïveté and the
wisdom that children instinctively use to „hit the nail on the head“ of a
problem. She is not the infantile type often played by actors attempting to
portray a child's mentality – she also displays irony and the detachment of
an adult.
(Culture-contribution, And be Proud! Jana Dlouhá)
Helenka Součková played by Barbora Hrzánová is truly a lovable rascal.
She has one especially bad quality – she differs from others in her unique
view of the world. …
… What is Barbora Hrzánová actually like? Physically, Hrzánová gives her
the appearance of an intellectual youngster. She can perfectly maintain the
rapid rate of chatter, stop with a dramatic pause, stretch her voice in great
surprise, highlight some secret in her life and rise to emotional weeping at the
disappointments in life.
(Časopis-scéna.cz, Secrets from the life of an eight-year-old girl –
Barbora Hrzánová the lovable „rascal“)