This year’s festival will once again present a rich theatrical program from various countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Czech creators will be represented by titles in the field of puppet theater, dance, physical theatre, and film by the companies Tygr v tísni, Farm in the Cave and Lenka Vagnerová & Company. Visit performances, screenings, and discussions in New York on June 21st and 22nd.

Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival is a showcase of contemporary European theatre organized each year in New York City. Conceived in 2017 as a shared endeavor of the Vaclav Havel Center (VHC) and Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association (BBLA), the festival honors the legacy of Czech playwright, dissident and political thinker Vaclav Havel.  Each edition of Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival addresses current sociopolitical trends in Central Europe, offering New York audiences a unique opportunity to witness the region’s theatrical zeitgeist. 

PerformCzech / Arts and Theatre Institute in Prague has been a regular supporter and consultant of the festival program since its inception, contributing to showcasing current trends in Czech theatre and dance. This year, the festival will feature the production “The Zlín Project” created by members of the Tygr v tísni ensemble and students from the Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre at the Theatre Faculty in Prague. Their puppet production features everyday life that is functional, modern, universal, model, routine and effective until an error occurs and is inspired by Zlín, a Moravian city in the Czech Republic, whose greatest development took place in the first half of the 20th century, thanks to the family of Tomas Bata, who founded a shoe company here.

The presentation of Czech artists will also be complemented by screenings of films and recordings of performances by two prominent Czech dance companies: Farm in the Cave and Lenka Vagnerová & Company. The unique production „Commander” by Farm in the Cave combines a physical theatre performance with live music and a film starring child actors to communicate an urgent, yet widely overlooked, topic – the online radicalisation of youth. „Ephemera“ is based on pandemic restrictions which forced the company to leave the theatre and create an extraordinary experience of an auditorium divided into 18 cabins and in permanent motion. The resulting experience is a kaleidoscope of life situations happening in parallel. The work of Lenka Vagnerová, independent choreographer, dancer and dance teacher in the contemporary Czech and international dance scene, will be presented by „Riders“. Don’t miss the opportunity to meet with Czech creators at discussions following the performances and screenings.

The presentation is implemented with the financial support of the European Union through the Czech Recovery Plan and the Ministry of Culture Czech Republic.