The acclaimed Slovak theatre director and playwright Dodo Gombar wrote the monologue The Hangman especially for ToldUntold. Dodo has staged over 60 plays including Faust, Three Sisters and Between Heaven and Her. Since 2010 he has been the artistic director of the Svandovo Theatre Company in Prague.

The Hang Men is a light and funny piece, based on a story that came to us by letter: A man enters the army after finishing his veterinarian studies. In the army they understand the world according to titles and see him as a doctor. Thus, he becomes the army doctor. In his limited spare time he plays in a band called The Hang Men, a name the band members convince their superiors means “The Proletarians.”

This piece was performed at Jeden Svet Documentary Festival in Prague by actor Jacob Erftemeijer (from the Svandovo Theatre Company). The original letter was written by Zdeněk Lysý.

From The Hang Men:
“In november ’89 I cried, I do not remember anything so strongly, only the fact I was crying. My daughters did not get it, but did not ask either. Although they were small at that time, they were sensitive. That was what the unfree world had taught us, to be on one hand more besotted on the other more sensitive.”

Monologue: Dodo Gombar
Actor: Jacob Erftemeijer
Original letter: Zdeněk Lysý
Camera: Tijl Akkermans, Noor Hulskamp
Edit: Emmie Kollau
Translation: Lisa Kostkova