Learn
Experience text-based productions and performances of new Czech plays in an online format as part of a special digital program for international audiences. The online program features shows with English subtitles, discussions with artists and creative teams, and theatrical presentations from such major Czech venues as the National Theatre, Theatre on the Balustrade, Prague City Theatres, Pod Palmovkou Theatre, and the Centre for Experimental Theatre.
For four days from 9 to 12 November 2021, you have the unique opportunity to watch 12 stage productions and accompanying programs all online. Access will only be provided to participants who register with Hi PerformanCZ: Visitors’ Program 2021. Register here.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact the program coordinator Viktorie Schmoranzová at viktorie.schmoranzova@idu.cz.
PROGRAM
9 November 2021
A Day with the Centre for Experimental Theatre in Brno
The Centre for Experimental Theatre (CED) encompasses the activities of three unique and artistically autonomous ensembles: the Goose on a String Theatre, the HaDivadlo Theatre, and the contemporary performance art platform Terén (Terrain). All three companies produce and present daring artistic works all year round, exploring and developing contemporary performing art forms while creating a stable environment for artistic experimentation and the search for new theatrical language in dialogue with current trends in other artistic disciplines. The virtual tour and presentation offers an interview with the director of the CED — Miroslav Oščatka, artistic director of the HaDivadlo Theatre — Ivan Buraj, artistic director of the Goose on a String Theatre — Martin Sládeček, and artistic director of the Terén Theatre — Matyáš Dlab.
Performances from the Centre for Experimental Theatre you can watch online:
Cherwuish, an exploration of the root of our ideas on our own level of development / staged by the Goose on a String Theatre
Perception, an introspective scenic essay on the melancholy of resistance and freedom in non-growth / staged by the HaDivadlo Theatre
Honey and Dust, by the Honey and Dust company, which works between artistic forms and genres, creating theatrical performances, concerts, and art installations for theatres, galleries, and concert halls
10 November 2021
A Day with the National Theatre Drama Prague
The National Theatre (NT) is the Czech Republic’s representative theatre. Serving as a symbol of the Czech national identity and forming a part of the European cultural space, it is both the bearer of national cultural heritage and a space for free artistic creation. The National Theatre is home to the opera, dramatic theatre, ballet, and Magician’s Lantern ensembles, who perform in the National Theatre, the Estates Theatre, the State Opera, and the New Stage. The National Theatre presentation offers the Theatre Outside Theatre discussion with the artistic director of the National Theatre Drama Company — Daniel Špinar and directors Jiří Havelka and Jiří Austerlitz moderated by chief programmer Marta Ljubková.
!!!The live discussion will take place on the Zoom platform at 6 PM (CET)!!!
While theatres have been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NT Drama Company has been searching for ways to respond to the current situation by performing offstage and outside of theatres. “Traditional theatre” seems inconceivable without live performances and direct contact with the audience, but is there really any decent alternative? Is it possible to record a performance and still keep the spirit of theatre intact?A play that’s to be transformed into another medium must be “reinvented”: we take the stage performance as a starting point but endeavour to find a visual or acoustic expression that can communicate with the audience almost as if they were sitting right there in the theatre. On the other hand, we take it as an opportunity to break through the limits of the stage and create a riveting show outside the theatre building. This is the essence of the Theatre Outside Theatre project: a new theatrical experience, a new theatrical venue.
Performances from the National Theatre Drama Prague you can watch online:
Eyewitness, an old story narrated through modern visual technology. Old documents spring to life, continuing to deliver the same horrific testimony / directed by Jiří Havelka
For Beauty, a live dialogue with important figures who helped establish the Czech theatre tradition / directed by Daniel Špinar
You In My House, an audio-mobile specific-performance for two spectators and an apartment / created by Jiří Austerlitz
11 November 2021
A Day with the Theatre on the Balustrade
Since its establishment in 1958, the Theatre on the Balustrade has been a leading exponent of the “theatre of small forms” concept and played an important role in the socio-cultural context of the country. Many excellent productions have been staged here and a pleiad of significant theatre impresarios and thespians have worked or continue to work here, including none other than Václav Havel. After 1989, the theatre remained one of the most highly commended stages in Czech text based theatre. The direction of its current artistic leadership leans more towards “irregular dramaturgy” and authorial theatre. The Theatre on the Balustrade often tours to theatres and festivals at home and abroad. A virtual visit to the theatre will offer an interview with theatre director Petr Štědroň and artistic director Dora Viceníková.
Performances from the Theatre on the Balustrade you can watch online:
Lost Illusions, a stage adaptation of the Honoré de Balzacnovel of the same name, whose critical perspective on society is still relevant today
Woodcutters, Thomas Bernhard returns to the stage with his angry style, sharp humour, observational talent, and ability to expose our falseness /adapted by Dora Viceníková and directed by Jan Mikulášek
Macbeth – Too Much Blood, a variation on Shakespeare’s Macbeth, in which we can’t be sure whether the action takes place in the past, present, or distant future / adapted and directed by David Jařab
12 November 2021
A Day with Prague City Theatres and the Pod Palmovkou Theatre
Prague City Theatres is one of the largest dramatic theatre groups in the Czech Republic and currently performs on three stages: the ABC Theatre, the Comedy Theatre, and the Rococo Theatre. The theatre was conceived as an open, active, and socially engaged cultural institution. In addition to its artistic activities, it also works on a project basis, organising educational programmes, offering space to resident artists and ensembles, and presenting a wide range of accompanying activities from all related disciplines in the arts and humanities. A virtual visit to the theatre will offer an interview with theatre director Daniel Přibyl, the Comedy Theatre programmer and editor-in-chief of Modern Theatre magazine Lenka Dombrovská, and leading Czech playwright David Drábek, who works here as a resident author and director.
Performance from Prague City Theatres you can watch online:
Hotel Good Luck, a film version of a production by Mexican author Alejandro Ricaño that tells the story of lonely radio DJ Bobby who becomes obsessed with his fear of death /directed by Michal Dočekal
Pod Palmovkou Theatre is based in Prague’s Libeň neighbourhood, made famous by writer Bohumil Hrabal. Established by the capital city of Prague, this stage presents both productions based on large, powerful stories and authorial and generational theatre targeting primarily younger and middle-aged generations. The interview with director and artistic director of the theatre Michal Lang and programmer Ladislav Stýblo will introduce the theatre’s body of work as well as the Palm Off Fest international festival, which predominantly features productions by Central and Eastern European artists focused on current social and political topics.
Performances from the Pod Palmovkou Theatre you can watch online:
Nora (A Doll´s House), directed by Jan Nebeský, whose several adaptations of Ibsen’s plays have appeared at prestigious international festivals to much critical acclaim
Faust, one of the most provocative and essential works of European culture directed by Jan Klata, one of the most distinctive contemporary European directors around
9-12 November 2021
Check the list of performances you can watch all throughout Hi PerformanCZ: Visitors’ Program 2021:
