March 16, 2012 | Theatre,

Who is Tomáš Kubínek?

By Corrie Glanville

Billed as a “Certified Lunatic and Master of the Impossible,” the unusual talents of Tomáš Kubínek are notoriously hard to resist; after his sold out run on Broadway, The New York Times pronounced Kubínek “absolutely expert and consistent charming!” His internationally celebrated solo performances often include but are not limited to acrobatics, improvisation, audience participation, ukulele playing and a specially built contraption that allows him to walk with six feet. He has been described as part old fashioned clown, part Monty Python, part illusionist and entirely unique. So, just who is this Kubínek fellow?

Born in Prague, Tomáš Kubínek was smuggled out by his parents at age three when the Soviets invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968. The Kubínek family was allowed to immigrate to Canada after a few months in an Austrian refugee camp and it was in Ontario that young Tomáš experienced his first circus where he was immediately hooked. A bit of a prodigy, at age nine Kubínek gave his first performance for a group of aging magicians and by age thirteen, he had an agent.

Kubínek honed his craft with some of Europe’s great theatre teachers like Pierre Byland, Jaques Lecoq and Boleslav Polivka, which led to his own experimental one-man shows. But he does not always fly solo; Kubínek conceived and performed in Moose with British theatre company The Right Size. A comedy about three men surviving the arctic, it won Time Out magazine’s #1 Critic’s Choice Award. He appeared as a guest villain in Circus Flora where he fell 40 feet into the ring after fencing on the high wire with Tino Wallenda of the famed Flying Wallendas. As a director, Kubínek has collaborated on the work of other solo performers, most recently with Edith Tankus and her one-woman show Not Yet, At All.

In addition to balancing wine glasses on his forehead while doing somersaults, Kubínek also attempts to incorporate the politics and culture of wherever he happens to be performing. Whether it’s improvised comedy about Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Italy or the sad state of the American economy in Seattle, audiences everywhere seem to adore Kubínek and his infectious silliness. When asked to describe his own performance, Kubínek says it’s nothing more than “a  brilliant one man show of absurd stories, death defying experiments and spontaneous hilarity, affordably priced and once seen, cherished for a lifetime.” Sounds like a experience not to be missed!

Tomáš Kubínek will be performing at the Paramount Center Mainstage from March 29 through April 1.