ONCE UPON A TIME or How General Torstenson Was Left Empty-Handed

29 male characters, 9 female, extras (variable composition, e.g. 9+9)

Vlastimil Peška penned this lively comedy, which recounts the unsuccessful siege of Brno by Swedish troops in the Thirty Years’ War, at the request of the Swedish folk writer Hans Erikson. The play offers a humorous take on an age-old and still lingering vice – the twisting of historical facts. It all unfolds against the backdrop of a simple, though supporting plotline built on the theme of the fabled Brno legend about the premature ringing of the noon-time chimes of Petrov Cathedral, after which the Swedes retreated from their lines, thus saving Brno from conquest.

The comedy may employ a varying-size cast, which can literally romp through the piece in about forty greater and lesser roles (the recommended minimum number of actors is twelve). The highlights include the witty, though understandable use of eight European languages ranging from English to Hungarian.