Ivana Plíhalová

„In 1989 I was already back in the theatre. Back then in January the Palach Week had started. At night I listened to Radio Free Europe and they reported that Václav Havel had been arrested and that there had been some kind of a petition for his release. The started reading out loud names of all the signatories and among them was Přemysl Rut. He was a friend of mine, a director and a dramatist who had been working on a chamber play called ‘Když nad Prahou se Hašler uklání’ with us. When I heard his name, I couldn’t think of anything better than to write him whether it would be possible to somehow get hold of the petition. He sent it to me, and I started going around all my friends. So, in effect, I only got involved in February 1989.”

„I recall one very crucial thing for me. It was already 1989 and there was a music festival taking place in Wroclaw. Jarek (Nohavica) had already gone there with Pepa Streichl. Karel was supposed to go with Emil Pospíšil. That was his bandmate who unfortunately died at a young age. Karel was summoned to the Public Security office, where they asked him to sign a paper stating that he wouldn’t defame our country abroad. That’s pretty much how it was phrased. He told them that he sure had not been intending to do that. The policemen sent him and Emil back from the borders, so they never made it to Poland. Jarek and Pepa had gotten in though. So, I don’t know…”