M&H Pilgrimage

It has been nearly 1,100 years since the first documented pilgrimage to the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela. The cathedral there supposedly houses the remains of St. James. Since those times, hundreds of thousands to millions of pilgrims have made the pilgrimage. Yet, the Slovak couple – Hildegard and Magdaléna (cryptonym H&M or M&H) – are exceptional. They decided to make the pilgrimage in the opposite direction, simply against the flow of time, that is, from Spain back to Slovakia. Moreover, they teamed up with the well-known fast fashion chain. The M&H brand stores therefore represented milestones on their journey. Hildegard and Magdalene end their journey right in Nitra and right during the Festival. They begin their joint pilgrimage from Nitra’s most popular shopping centre Mlyny. You are welcome to join last meters of the journey and a discussion that captures their recent impressions. Though, perhaps it is all just a mystification. Hildegard and Magdalene are actually actresses Heidi Šinková and Monika Haasová, the discussion moderator Petra Fornayová is also the director of the staged event. Humorous performance The M&H Pilgrimage offers a response to several phenomena of the day. It represents a relatively underrepresented line of theatre critical of consumerism within Slovak theatre context. We can interpret it through the effort to commercialise any area of human life, including spirituality.

concept, text and directed by: Petra Fornayová
performed by: Monika Haasová, Heidi Šinková and others
dramaturgy: Peter Šulej
set design: Matej Gavula
stream visuals and video: Jakub Pišek
photo editing: Žofia Dvořáková
song translated by: Mária Modrovich
sound teaser: Ambróz Šulej
production: Príchod Godota
main partner: Fond na podporu umenia / Slovak Arts Council
partners: Štúdio 12 (Divadelný ústav), Bratislavský samosprávny kraj, Nadácia mesta Bratislavy / Štúdio 12 (Theatre Institute), Bratislava Self-governing Region, Bratislava City Foundation

Petra Fornayová (1972) is dedicated to contemporary dance and theatre. She graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Comenius University in Bratislava and dance at the Academy of Performing Arts (VŠMU) in Bratislava. She was dancer at the Contemporary Dance Group of Zuzana Hajková, the State Opera in Banská Bystrica and the Théâtre du Movement in Paris. As stage director and choreographer, she created over 20 author’s works (her project Green Is the Grass/Zelená je tráva was made in co-production with Divadelná Nitra 2021). She also stages contemporary drama (I. Vyrypayev, J. Bodnárová). She featured at a number of festivals, such as Nová Dráma/New drama Bratislava, Jamais Vu! Paris, Dance Prague, Ars Cameralis Katowice, HybajHo! Prague, Korespondance Opera Nova. She founded and runs the international festival Nu Dance Fest in Bratislava and is a member of the programming board of the European City of Culture 2026 – Trenčín.