year: 2024
place: Prague
concept,script and direction: Savka Marenić
costumes: Savka Marenić
video: Nika Datiaschvili
sound design: Jonáš Richter, Jonáš Balcar, Nikola Janković
performers: Nikola Janković, Gabriela Veselá, Milena Raičević
photos: Adéla Vosičková
collaboration: Umění pro město, GHMP
An immersive audio walk and performance set around Vyšehrad metro station and Nusle Bridge gradually reveals the secrets, legends, and identity of this space through the speculative fiction of the fairy cloak. The Nusle Valley, with its iconic bridge, becomes the stage for a performative shared experience and imagination that blends historical and fictional narratives, weaving together reality and myth. What do we discover when we view the space through the eyes of a tourist and follow a romantic date unfolding in this vulnerable environment?
Whisper in the Valley explored the performative qualities of public transit spaces, offering a different perspective on a place marked by trauma. Through fiction and performance, it aims to highlight the care and build new connections to the space that has been deeply marked by the physical, urban impact of the Nusle Bridge, as well as its psychological and social implications. The Nusle’s bridge which connects the city, is also a site of personal loss and various transformations; its presence is linked to many suicides and social changes that have left an indelible mark on the valley. The walk was enriched by original music, field recordings, and costumes that amplified the narrative and stimulated the audience's imagination and interpretation of the story.
The installation is also part of the development of an upcoming book, The Cloak, a speculative fiction work that blends collective imagination, performative events, narrative, and ecological awareness. Through personal, collective, and more-than-human perspectives, The Cloak invites readers, participants, and residents into a sensory engagement with overlooked and vulnerable spaces in the Nusle Valley. It demonstrates how small gestures, imagination, and shared creation can transform our perception of these places. The fairy cloak is just a piece of fabric — without body, name, or gender. Yet it becomes a symbol of connection, care, and exploration — not only with the space itself, but also within ourselves.
