Czech Theatre Research Articles

Dramaturgy of "Hamlet"(s) in Czech Theatre between 2000 and 2023

The paper focuses on five Czech productions of Hamlet that attracted the most critical and public attention between 2000 and 2023. Namely, the productions directed by Miroslav Krobot (2006), Jan Mikulášek (2009), Daniela Špinar (2013), Michal Dočekal (2021) and finally the most recent version by Jakub Čermák (2022). All five performances could be seen as contemporary reinterpretations of a classical text using a (post-)modern stylistic approach, as examples of post-millennium Hamlets. The paper discusses dramaturgical choices (such as the conceptualisation of the ghost, the mousetrap scene, or the character of Fortinbras) in order to identify and analyse possibilities for interpreting Hamlet as a political drama in the context of Czech performance tradition and the current political situation. The results show that performances generally present variations of Hamlet as a family drama, foregrounding different issues of memory and body, while the political reading is obsolete.

Passion and Politics in Diego de Brea and Jakub Čermák’s "Edward II": Marlowe’s Controversial History on Czech Stages

The present article outlines the stage history of Christopher Marlowe’s history Edward II on Czech stages, focusing chiefly on how the respective directors approached the titular character of Marlowe’s play and his sexuality. The study focuses on two post-2000 productions of the play: Diego de Brea’s Edvard Drugy for the Slovenian National Theatre, which toured to the 16th “Divadlo” International Theatre Festival in Pilsen, West Bohemia, in 2008; and Jakub Čermák’s production of Edvard II. for the independent Czech theatre company “Depresivní děti touží po penězích” (Depressive Children Yearn for Money) that premiered in 2023 in Prague. Since for both Czechs and Slovenians, King Edward II is a minor figure of English history and Elizabethan history plays are generally less appealing to them than other genres, both the directors sideline the political dimension of the story to fully explore the issue of social and sexual norms and relate it to current social and cultural discussions both in the West and the former Eastern Bloc. Stressing the motif of social and sexual otherness even more bravely than most recent Western productions, de Brea and Čermák offered not only valuable contributions to both local and global reception of Marlowe’s Edward II, but also raised the visibility of LGBT theatre in a region where it has only a modest history and tradition.

On the Hidden Potential of Public Solitude, Part I: Ivan Vyskočil’s Theatre as Encounter

ABSTRACT In this essay, we introduce Ivan Vyskočil (1929–2023), a Czech theatre maker, author, psychologist, and pedagogue – a case study par excellence for current studies on hybridization and transdisciplinarity as fosterers of creativity. Since Stanislavsky’s public solitude has played a key role for Vyskočil’s concept of authorial acting and its pedagogy, we track down ways Vyskočil elaborated on it as well as other resources that influenced his work (e. g. Brecht’s V-effekt, or the Czech avant-garde movement). Our study comes in a two-part series. In this Essay I, we identify major shifts through which Vyskočil transposed Stanislavsky’s small circle of attention – originally a tool for actors to escape the audience’s intimidating gaze – into the constitutive condition for theatre as encounter, in which the audience co-creates the play while it is emerging. Despite their origins on the big stage of the Moscow Art Theatre and its studios, it is argued here that Stanislavsky’s public solitude and creative state reveal their full potential through small stage forms of authorial creativity – as Vyskočil has shown via “Non-Theatre” productions and in journal articles. Essay II of this series then presents Vyskočil’s concept of dialogical and embodied education, especially when they cultivate the actor’s inner positions of spectatorship and authorship. This approach characterizes studies at the Department of Authorial Creativity and Pedagogy, which Vyskočil founded at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (DAMU) in 1994.

Radovan Lukavský and the Stanislavsky’s method of an actor’s work

ABSTRACT Radovan Lukavský (1919–2008) was an important representative of modern Czech acting, a long-time National Theatre drama ensemble member in Prague, and a teacher at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (AMU). As a teacher, he persistently espoused the legacy of Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavsky. Lukavský made considerable efforts to defend the latter’s ideas against the “vulgarization” that had infested Czech theatre and the Theatre faculty of AMU at the beginning of the 1950s, as a clash took place between the socialist-realist ideologisation and the creative interpretation of the Stanislavsky “System.” In this essay, the author draws attention to Lukavský’s approach to Stanislavsky’s methods and the basic principles Lukavský addressed in other professional publications and studies.

“If Only They’d Stop Waiting”: Staging Western Canadian Drama In Central Europe

The best of contemporary theatre in Western Canada presents stories of the historical, cultural, and ethnic diversity of the region while taking a critical stand against the traditional stereotypes of “prairie realism and cowboy iconography” which contributed to the creation of its social, as well as artistic awareness. Western Canadian playwrights reflect in their works the wide multicultural spectrum of their region, without writing mere “ethnic theatre” with limited readability and appeal. This is documented by several instances of producing Western Canadian drama “out of its context” – specifically in Central Europe. In the Czech Republic, it was the productions of Brad Fraser’s Kill Me Now by theatres in Ostrava and Mladá Boleslav in 2017 and 2019, respectively, and the production of Vern Thiessen’s play Lenin’s Embalmers by a Liberec theatre which premiered in December 2017. The article discusses the productions of Western Canadian plays by Czech theatres, with special focus on the dramaturgical decisions and theatrical presentations concerned, as well as on the critical and audience response the productions have received, with the aim to demonstrate that Western Canadian drama presents not only a valuable source for cultural and theatrological study, but also inspiring material for meaningful stage productions in Czech – and potentially European – theatres.

Musical Theatre as an Object of Transnational Political Exchange

The paper focuses on the ways Czech-language theatres in Czechoslovakia were dealingwith the obligatory presence of Soviet operetta titles in their repertoire, dating from about 1950to 1989. The reform of Czech musical theatre began right after World War II. In search of the right,nationalized form of operetta, Czech theatre organs soon understood that the example must bedrawn from the hegemonic Soviet culture. In the Soviet discourse, mainly Isaac Dunayevsky’soperettas were considered masterpieces, and Czech theatre politicians were soon paying theirattention to them. After some initial difficulties in obtaining material for the operettas, Dunayevsky’spieces entered Czech theatre and stayed on the repertoire to the beginning of the 1960s. Afterthe Warsaw Pact Invasion in 1968, Soviet operettas re-entered the theatres’ repertoire; however,their reception and staging circumstances were much more complicated. The paper focuses on themain tendencies in staging Dunayevsky’s operettas in Czechoslovakia, the political and culturalbackground of productions, and the various ways of presenting it in Czech society and culture. Thecultural and historical microprocesses analysed may then throw light on a wider range of historicaland cultural phenomena, including cultural transfers and relations between Czechoslovakia and theSoviet Union, the discrepancies between the official and unofficial discourse, as well as the role ofpopular musical theatre in a socialist society.

Where is the Speech That Matters? On the Silence of the Czech Theatre Professionals in a Crisis

Where is the Speech That Matters? On the Silence of the Czech Theatre Professionals in a Crisis

Dziga Vertov: Life and Work (Volume 1: 1896–1921) by MacKay John (review)

REVIEWS 571 and Vostrá, and brilliant productions of Czech and international works by E. F. Burian, Jiří Frejka, Jan Grossman and others discussed here. Day does not, however,typicallyhighlightthemanyworksthatareunequivocallymoralizing, didactic and self-righteous, serve rather than subvert political programmes, advocate conformity or are simply shallow; moreover, important figures (for example, Karel Sabina, Vítězslav Nezval and Pavel Kohout) seem to fade in and out depending on how far they fit the narrative. Day’s almost nostalgic perspective derives from her close personal acquaintance with Czech theatre from the extraordinary variety and energy of the 1960s liberalization, through the years of dissent, to the central role played by theatre people and spaces as Communism fell. This connection manifests itself in the dominance in her book of not only this period and its political values over any other, but also a breathless, encyclopaedic focus on people, frequently brought to life through short, amusing or touching anecdotes. The textual aspect of theatre is subordinate here to the lived world of directors, actors, designers, scholars and audiences interacting with one another and the world outside. Trial by Theatre reflects its author’s long-standing work as an advocate for Czech theatre through translation, writing and teaching and as an ally of proponents of Czech civil society before and after 1989. It is attractively presented in large-size paperback with numerous photographs and images and includes a useful select bibliography of both English-language and Czech sources, and a ‘dramatis personae’ of the key figures in Czech theatrical history and plays mentioned. It leaves to others, however, the task of updating not only the story of Czech theatre, but also the interpretative frames through which its most creative periods are understood. University of Oxford Rajendra A. Chitnis MacKay, John. Dziga Vertov: Life and Work (Volume 1: 1896–1921). Film and Media Studies. Academic Studies Press, Boston, MA, 2018. xcvi + 372 pp. Illustrations. Figures. Notes. Archives consulted. Filmography. Bibliography. Index. $129.00: £123.00; $35.00: £29.95. Dziga Vertov (1896–1954), one of the most influential Soviet filmmakers of his generation, is best known in the West as the director of Man with a Movie Camera (Chelovek s kinoapparatom, 1929), arguably the greatest documentary film ever made. He was also a vociferous theorist, who rejected fiction cinema and advocated nonfiction filmmaking as the best vehicle for representing the revolutionary new Soviet world. Much has been written about Vertov, but John MacKay’s book — volume one of his much anticipated three-volume study — SEER, 98, 3, JULY 2020 572 is the first English-language biography devoted to him. MacKay describes it as a ‘critical-biographical study’ (p. xxxiii), but this unassuming designation does not do justice to his work’s extraordinary scope and range of reference. MacKay’s lengthy introduction (which refers not only to the present volume, but also to the forthcoming volumes two and three) provides a critical overview of the most important waves of Vertov reception since his death in 1954. A tour de force of summary, synthesis and clarity, MacKay’s survey ranges widely across scholarship published in Russian, English, French and German, demonstrating how it has been inflected by shifting historical, ideological and cultural contexts, and guiding the reader through the numerous ‘textual labyrinth[s]’ (p. lxii) that have developed around key Vertovian concepts, such as Kino-Pravda (Film-Truth) and Kino-Glaz (Kino-Eye). The book’s main body covers the first twenty-five years of the filmmaker’s life, from his birth, as David Abelevich Kaufman, on 15 January 1896 to the end of 1921. By this time, he had changed his name twice (first to Denis Arkad´evich Kaufman, then to Dziga Vertov) and embarked on a career in the nascent Soviet cinema industry. He had not yet made any of his major films, however, or written any of his most significant theoretical texts. MacKay’s purposes in focusing on the early period of the filmmaker’s life are to uncover ‘the “beginnings of the historical object” called Vertov’ (p. 2), to trace the trajectory of his cinematic and theoretical practice, and to assess the influence on his filmmaking of the various contexts — familial, social, cultural, ideological...

Trial by Theatre: Reports on Czech Drama by Day Barbara (review)

SEER, 98, 3, JULY 2020 570 Day, Barbara. Trial by Theatre: Reports on Czech Drama. Dramatica. Karolinum Press, Prague, 2019. 320 pp. Illustrations. Dramatis personae. Titles of Czech and Slovak plays, operas films. Select bibliography. Notes. Index. CZK 420.00 (paperback). For a literature only widely known for a few writers, Czech literature is unusually blessed with books in English about its theatre, notably by Paul Trensky, Marketa Goetz-Stankiewicz, Jarka Burian and, most recently, Jan Čísař. In its scope, accessibility and chronological structure, Barbara Day’s survey of the history of modern Czech theatre is closest to Burian’s 2000 monograph; indeed, she approvingly cites its subtitle — ‘Reflector and Conscience of a Nation’ — in support of her own ‘exploration of why the theatre is central to the social and political history of the Czech lands’ (p. 13). This socio-political approach explains why publishers are so receptive to the topic, but privileges description over interpretation and tends to reduce works to how they reflect the politics of their times. Day characterizes Trial by Theatre as a handbook. It is addressed to a general reader interested in significant but less familiar national theatres. Those working on Czech literature or cultural history will appreciate the wealth of references, and especially the short descriptions of notable productions, but will need to look elsewhere for detail and analysis. Day prioritizes breadth, briefly covering topics as varied as the links between modern Czech theatre and its medieval and folk counterparts, its response to different international influences, movements and theories, and its relationship to related artforms like cabaret and cinema. These topics appear against the background of theatre’s relationship to the nation, from the ‘national revival’ of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to the 1939–45 German occupation and the Communist period. Day inevitably has to condense contexts, concepts and episodes into often just a few sentences that cannot accommodate complexity or debate. This method particularly affects the presentation of Czech history, which conforms in a measured way to the dominant national narrative of noble resistance in the face of externally imposed adversity. If Day’s book has an argument, it is that Czech theatre evolves from being a ‘tool for survival in the hands of a nation that felt existentially threatened’ to ‘asking increasingly difficult questions, instinctively analysing and subverting any ideological programme. In its role as the conscience of the land, the theatre has been educational without being didactic, ethical without being self-righteous. Although often intensely political, it did not condemn or endorse, but invited theatregoers to decide for themselves’ (pp. 14–15). This description could be applied by a liberal intellectual to the best theatre of any nation, and is sustainable for certain works by writers like Klicpera, Preissová, Josef Topol REVIEWS 571 and Vostrá, and brilliant productions of Czech and international works by E. F. Burian, Jiří Frejka, Jan Grossman and others discussed here. Day does not, however,typicallyhighlightthemanyworksthatareunequivocallymoralizing, didactic and self-righteous, serve rather than subvert political programmes, advocate conformity or are simply shallow; moreover, important figures (for example, Karel Sabina, Vítězslav Nezval and Pavel Kohout) seem to fade in and out depending on how far they fit the narrative. Day’s almost nostalgic perspective derives from her close personal acquaintance with Czech theatre from the extraordinary variety and energy of the 1960s liberalization, through the years of dissent, to the central role played by theatre people and spaces as Communism fell. This connection manifests itself in the dominance in her book of not only this period and its political values over any other, but also a breathless, encyclopaedic focus on people, frequently brought to life through short, amusing or touching anecdotes. The textual aspect of theatre is subordinate here to the lived world of directors, actors, designers, scholars and audiences interacting with one another and the world outside. Trial by Theatre reflects its author’s long-standing work as an advocate for Czech theatre through translation, writing and teaching and as an ally of proponents of Czech civil society before and after 1989. It is attractively presented in large-size paperback with numerous photographs and images and includes a useful select bibliography of both...

Efficiency Evaluation of Cultural Services in the Czech Republic via Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis

Culture is an irreplaceable means of transferring information between generations. The development of culture, the cultural environment, and the effect of culture exist over the long term. The results are not shown immediately, whereas the economics of subjects of this area (including theatres) are subject to public control. Public control forces these entities to use public finances efficiently, economically, and effectively. A sample of 11 indicators showing techniques and financial efficiency was chosen to conduct a complex evaluation of the economy of Czech theatres. The importance of the indicators was set by three objective methods used in combination by the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) for the evaluation of management. We show significant differences among the results; in our opinion, it is not possible to exactly set the best method that could be applied in general. Every method can potentially serve as a tool for complex comparison among homogeneous groups of theatres of the Czech Republic, depending on the preferences of their founder, in the public sector such as a municipality, region, or state.

Ohlédnutí za první štací výstavy Račte vstoupit do divadla

The traveling exhibition Please Enter Our Theatre and its respective exhibition catalogue represent a theatre playbill as a valuable subject of theatriological research as well as an attractive exhibit. The exhibition shows the theatre scene in the Czech lands from the mid-1600s to the mid-1900s, when the playbills have experienced the most wide-spread use, with overlaps to the present, when a theater poster took most of the playbill’s purposes upon itself. The exhibition also includes other objects pertaining to the productions of mostly Czech theatre companies from the vast collections of the National Museum’s Theatre Department, such as photographs, manuscripts, stage and costume designs, props, stage models, paintings, busts, costumes or puppets.

The Prague Burgher Library of J. D. Arbeiter in the Cultural and Social Context of the Time

The library preserved in the collections of the Hussite Museum in Tábor is a reflection of the life of the Prague burgher and pharmacist Jan Dobromil Arbeiter (1794–1870). In the context of three quarters of the 19th century, it testifies to the emergence of the National Revival, the renewed interest in the Czech language and the related development of Czech theatre. J. D. Arbeiter was an important Prague burgher and patriot actively involved in social and political events. His versatile interests and the support of patriotism led him to the foundation and expansion of his personal library. He was a member of many associations, including Stálci, established by Amerling. Its members regularly purchased Czech books and thus supported the development of Czech, in particular scientific, literature. Arbeiter was also a generous patron. Among other things, he supported the education of poor students. He played an important role in the establishment of the Realgymnasium grammar school in Tábor, to which he donated his library. He had developed it for his entire life; originally, it comprised an impressive number of 3,000 volumes. The library of J. D. Arbeiter is not only an example of one of a few extant burgher libraries of the 19th century. Thanks to the breadth of Arbeiter’s interests, it also provides a selective overview of Czech book production at the time.

From a Single Presentation of Poetry Up to Its Stylized Stage Image in the Form of Theatre Performance

Abstract In the 1940s the Drama Company of the Slovak National Theatre introduced four poetry productions, which demonstrated the stage potential of the symbiosis of verse and a music-accompanied recitation in an original stage design solution. The single presentation of poetry of Poézia revolúcie a boja [The Poetry of Revolution and Fight, 1945] directed by Ján Jamnický and Pásmo poézie Janka Jesenského [The Show of Poetry by Janko Jesenský, 1946] directed by Jozef Budský were the first independent attempts at staging selected poetry. Besides recitation, they were dominated by the visual sign, powerful music sometimes accompanied by the singing of individuals and a voice band, and distinctive lighting design. Botto’s Smrť Jánošíkova [The Death of Jánošík] and Sládkovič’s Marína (both in 1948) directed by Jozef Budský displayed all features of synthetic theatre, combining recitation, voice band singing, scenic and visual solutions, metaphor, originally composed music inspired by the folk song, dance, film screening, and meaningful lighting. Jozef Budský indirectly built on Czech theatre, particularly on E. F. Burian. Both masterpieces by the authors of Štúr’s generation (Ján Botto, Andrej Sládkovič) aroused the interest of the expert public and the audience. It triggered arguments about excessive directorial intervention and insufficient ideological character, especially in the theatre form of Marína.

Поэтика имен собственных драматических персонажей в чешском театре абсурда

Поэтика имен собственных драматических персонажей в чешском театре абсурда

Contemporary Czech Theatre as a Creative Process and Artistic Work: A Challenge for Documentation

The following text reflects on the research project implemented by the Theatre Department of the National Museum within the framework of contemporary collecting (documentation of the present). It presents both the concept and the starting point of the project and describes its practical implementation. The paper further analyses practical and theoretical issues and problems that have arisen during the two-year implementation of the project; it deals with specific examples of collected material – its types and relevance, the way it was archived, processed and used. Rather than presenting a final complex methodology, the article presents the first steps made during its creation; it points out the difficulties of the project and reflects the future potential of the documentation.

WPŁYW TWÓRCZOŚCI EDUARDO DE FILIPPA NA CZESKĄ KULTURĘ

The article offers an overview of the reception of the work of Eduardo De Filippo in the Czech culture, and provides a list of his plays translated into Czech language and staged in Czech theatres from the 50s of the 20th century to the present. The plays of Eduardo De Filippo were performed in Prague and other Czech cities mainly in the 50s and 60s of the 20th century. In particular, the comedy Napoli milionaria! ( The Millions of Naples ), staged in Prague in 1957, was a great success. The comedy Filumena Martu- rano has also been very popular, and can at present be seen at the ABC Theatre in Prague. The article also addresses some issues related to the influence that the political situation and the dominant ideology of that time have had on the perception of the works of Eduardo De Filippo in Czechoslovakia and in the Czech Republic.

The Books of Hanuš Jelínek and Božena Jelínková in the National Museum Library in Prague

The article points out the uniqueness of the personal book collection of the Czech poet, translator and theatre critic Hanuš Jelínek, one of the most prominent figures in Czech–French cultural relations. Based on the owner’s last will, it has been deposited in the National Library in Prague since 1951, when the book estate was handed over to the National Museum after the death of his wife, Božena Jelínková-Jirásková, an academic painter, and it also contains books that belonged to her. The book collection, which still awaits further research and is hardly known to the wider professional public, is a very valuable source on the life and work of Mr and Mrs Jelínek as well as an important source of information on the history of Czech-French cultural transfers and the cultural history of Europe in the first half of the 20th century.

Puppets, dogs, and vegetarian angels: ecocriticism in Jakub Krofta's Polish productions

This article explores the work of Czech theatre director Jakub Krofta in the context of ecocriticism. This discussion focuses on Krofta's two productions directed for Polish puppetry theatres and aimed at young audiences: Daszenka (Teatr Lalka, Warsaw, 2011), based on Karel Capek's book, and Pacan – historia o milości (Pacan – a story about love; Wroclawski Teatr Lalek, Wroclaw, 2012). My analysis is framed by Greta Gaard's theories on ecopedagogy (GAARD 2009) and Paul Piris's discussion on co-presence between the puppeteer and the puppet (PIRIS 2014). Building on their work, and combining it with performance analyses of both productions, this article explores how Krofta manages interactive relationships between performers, puppets, and spectators so as to engage his audiences with global discussions relating to human/environment relations. Krofta's works achieve this through their exploration of the problematic status of animals in the contemporary world, invitation the renegotiation of relations between humans and animals, and facilitation of various degrees of engagement for both children and adults.

Training on uncertain ground: Farma bez jeskyně/Farm without a cave

The recipient of numerous honours including Edinburgh Fringe First, Total Theatre and Herald Angel Awards and the European Prize for New Theatrical Realities (2011), Farma v jeskyni is among the most successful theatre companies to emerge from the Czech new theatre (nové divadlo) scene. Despite, or perhaps because of, its success, Farma's reception domestically is fraught with ambiguity and a suspicion of the company's laboratory-based methodology, which emphasises the daily physical training of company members. This article considers Farma's work and its domestic critical reception and interrogates the disparity between the company's international renown and compromised working conditions in Prague. It demonstrates the extent to which Farma's reception and treatment is shaped by the artistic values and priorities established throughout the historical evolution of Czech theatre as a highly politicised and national art form. Farma's emphasis on training and ensemble practice will be explored as inflecting the company's critical perception and working conditions, with reference to communist-era scepticism concerning Grotowski's actor-training practices, as well as post-communist neo-liberal agendas that emphasise saleable cultural products over artistically rigorous processes.

Theft, Contestation and Affirmation in Contemporary Czech Theatre

On 6 February 2005, five members of independent Prague-based theatre company Krepsko joined the cast of the National Theatre's production of Alois Jirásek's classic play Lucerna (The Lantern, 1905) for the performance's curtain call. Krepsko's ‘theft’ of applause, together with the performers’ subsequent confrontation by Lucerna's assistant director and encounter with police officers called to the scene, was captured on hidden camera and subsequently released on YouTube. This small event is densely laden with both local and broader significance. Krepsko is a company closely affiliated with the Czech nové divadlo (new theatre) scene, a self-governing sphere of production that exists in parallel to and differs markedly from the text-based, repertory theatre system, epitomized by the National, which has dominated Czech theatre production since the late-eighteenth century. The non-verbal character of much nové divadlo work has increased its mobility and led to affirmation from international audiences within and beyond Czech borders, yet foreign adulation often problematizes domestic reception. Pierre Bourdieu observes that within a field of cultural production ‘adversaries whom one would prefer to destroy by ignoring them cannot be combatted without consecrating them’ (1993: 42). In this context, Krepsko's ‘theft’ represents a playful assault on both the supremacy of the repertory system and silent treatment doled out by the mainstream press. The National's outrage is juxtaposed with the ‘Project of the Year’ award (2005) given to Ukradené ovace by Prague's … příští vlna/next wave … festival of contemporary art, demonstrating the extent to which new structures of affirmation are shaking the historically-constituted parameters of Czech theatre practice and challenging the nature and necessity of a national theatre in an increasingly post- or transnational context.