About

Ah, my sweet darling! What heavenly gifts will we not have to entrust to each other.
– Madame in Marquis de Sade, Philosophy in the Bedroom, 1795

Act 1: Entrance of the Cold-bathing Woman

Scene 1: A fur coat. A bathtub. Candles. A curtain.

Madame takes a bath. She casts a piercing glance at the audience. The Cold-bathing Woman enters. She shyly avoids their gaze. Forgive me, I don’t wish to disturb you!

Stanislava Kovalcikova’s visual worlds and theatrical settings are intimate, psychological spaces. They draw the audience in before repelling and shutting them out at the very next moment. What …