Archive: Culture | Theatre Theatre
Miroslav Trejtnar on teaching the Czech art of puppetry to international students
For the tenth year in a row, a small workshop in the Prague neighbourhood
of Vršovice is hosting a group of students from the US, India, Australia
and other countries who come to learn how to make traditional Czech
marionettes. The man who runs the courses and who teaches his international
students everything they need to know about puppets is Miroslav Trejtnar,
our guest in this edition of One on One. When I visited his workshops, the
course was halfway trough and the students had just begun carving their
puppets, which as Mr Trejtnar says it’s one of the most exiting stages of
the programme. More
A tour through a world of performance design at the Prague Quadrennial
Last week we told you about the opening of the Prague Quadrennial, an
unparalleled showcase of world scenography – design for artistic
performance – that began in 1967 and only comes around every four years.
The exhibits cover everything from costumes, sound design, and theatre
architecture to multi-media theatrical and performance art… in short, if
you imagine a wildish menagerie of all things theatre, then you’re half
way there. For today’s Arts I spent an afternoon walking around one of
the most special attractions at the Quadrennial, which is the pavilion of
installations from 60 different countries and regions, all entirely unique
and hosting some of the best and most imaginative of scenographic work the
world over. More
Prague Quadrennial, the world’s largest scenography event, kicks off 12th year
It’s always a long time coming, but the Prague Quadrennial is here again.
The world’s largest “performance design” event will be taking place
all around the Czech capital for the next eleven days, from the streets to
the exhibition palaces, covering all kinds of modern dramatic and visual
arts and hosting performers from all over the world. More
Small theatre company puts Czech politics on stage
An impromptu production by a small theatre company has become all the rage
in Prague. The title of the piece is Blond Bitch and the script is not by a
well-known playwright but by life itself or rather by a promising
twenty-six-year old Czech politician whose career just went up in smoke in
the worst government crisis in the country’s modern history. Blond Bitch
is in fact a play based word-for-word on a secret recording made of former
Public Affairs deputy leader Kristýna Kočí. More
Arts News round-up
In this week’s Arts, we have a round-up of recent stories from the Czech
arts scene. In this edition: how a new project called Artbanka is helping
emerging young artists in the Czech Republic and Slovakia; the
highly-respected Prague theatre Dejvické divadlo launches a new play based
on the life of early 20th Czech adventurer Jan “Eskimo” Welzl; and a
precious B&W photograph by František Drtikol – stolen two weeks ago
– is returned to Prague’s Museum of Decorative Arts. More
“Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell” returns to Prague stage after alcohol-induced break
When the theatre play Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell by the British author Keith
Waterhouse opened in Prague in March 2009, it became an instant success.
The tragicomic show starred a leading Czech actor, Oldřich Kaiser, in the
part of the heavy-drinking London journalist Jeffrey Bernard. But the play
was cancelled in November because Mr Kaiser, just like the main character,
was himself struggling to deal with alcohol abuse. Earlier this month,
however, Mr Kaiser returned on stage as Jeffrey Bernard at another venue in
the capital. More
An interview with the best loved of all Czech actors
For this week’s programme, we have something of a treat: a long forgotten
interview from our archives with someone who is nothing less than a Czech
legend. If you ask just about anyone in this country who is the best loved
Czech actor of all time, you will almost certainly hear the name Jan
Werich. Several generations of Czechs have grown up to love the
larger-than-life roles he played, his distinctive and deep voice, and his
wonderfully expressive and humorous face, immortalized in films that span a
career of fifty years. Born in 1905, Werich first shot to fame in the late
1920s, when he joined forces with his friend and fellow actor, Jiří
Voskovec and the composer Jaroslav Ježek. Their satirical left-wing
musical cabaret, the Osvobozené divadlo, or Liberated Theatre, was
immensely popular in the decade leading up to the Second World War, and its
songs are much loved to this day. More
Culture Ministry looking at new concepts for Prague’s classic stages
The Ministry of Culture is devising a new conceptual plan for Prague’s
premier, state-run theatres. A group of experts has been put together to
consider various alternatives for the better use of buildings like the
Estates Theatre, the National Theatre and the Prague State Opera. Though
only in the initial stages, critics were very quick to latch on to
suggestions made in the first of several plans under consideration, raising
a question mark over how easy it will be to reform the beloved and
traditional, but economically ineffective venues. More
Unusual Sherlock Holmes play premieres at the Klicpera Theatre
It may be the holiday season, a time when most prefer fairy tales on Czech
TV, but fans of detective fiction, horror or the avant garde also had a
chance to come into their own. Just before Christmas the Klicper Theatre in
Hradec Králové premiered a new play by one of the Czech Republic’s most
successful playwrights and directors, David Drábek. The focus? None other
than the great fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. More
The Makropulos Case, directed by Robert Wilson, premieres at Estates Theatre
A highly-touted production of Karel Čapek’s play The Makropulos Case,
directed by acclaimed American designer and director Robert Wilson,
premiered at Prague’s Estates Theatre on Thursday. Mr Wilson is known for
a highly unique approach to the stage and The Makropulos Case (a comedy
about an enigmatic singer sought by all men) includes many signature
elements. More
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