A Czech absurdist drama tracing Zdenek Koubek’s gender transition amid rising 1930s fascism.
This contemporary Czech play, written by Tomáš Dianiška, draws from the life of Zdenek Koubek (1913–1986), a celebrated athlete who broke multiple world records in women’s track before transitioning to male. The production explores Koubek’s personal journey against the backdrop of 1930s Europe, a period marked by the rise of fascism and the entrenchment of homophobia, transphobia, and rigid gender norms.
Told through an absurdist lens, the play revisits a largely forgotten historical figure whose story intersects with broader cultural and political shifts of the time. One of the most frequently produced works in recent Czech theatre, it examines identity, erasure, and resistance through archival inspiration and stylized storytelling.