Czech Theatre 19

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Jan Tska as King Lear, William Shakespeare, King Lear/ Prague Castle 2002 / Directed by Martin Huba / Set by Jozef Ciller / Costumes Milan orba>Photo Viktor Kronbauer


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ContentsTheatres over the Water?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Czech Stage Design Reflected in the Prague Quadrennial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Theatre of Pictures.Interview with David Marek, curator of the Czech Exposition at PQ 2003 . . . . . . . . . .17

The Floodwaters Receded... ...and Viktor Kronbauer Photographed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Theatres under Water. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

The National Theatre (still?) at the Crossroads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Wilsons Fate: a Happy Encounter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

There Are No Small Theatres.Miroslav Krobot in the Dejvice Theatre. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Chekhov for the Czechs. Vladimr Morveks Chekhov triptych in the Klicpera Theatre in Hradec Krlov . .49

Footprints in the Sands of Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

Puppets, Shadows and Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

Notebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

CZECH THEATRE19

Issued by Theatre Institute PragueDirector / Ondej ern

Responsible editor / Marie ReslovEditors / Kamila ern, Jana Patokov, Jitka SloupovTranslation / Barbara Day, Joanne P. C. Domin, Don NixonCover and graphical layout / Egon L. TobiTechnical realization / DTP Studio HamletPrinted by / Tiskrna FLORA, trboholsk 44, Praha 10M a y 2 0 0 3Editors e-mail: editio@divadlo. czSubscription: Divadeln stav, Celetn 17, 110 00 Praha 1, Czech Republicfax: 00420 2232 6100, e-mail: publik@divadlo. cz

2003 Divadeln stav PrahaISSN 0862-9380

Leo Janek, Fate/ Nrodn divadlo, Praha 2002 / Conducted by Ji Blohlvek / Directed byRobert Wilson / Set and light design Robert Wilson / Costumes Jacques Reynaud >Photo Oldich Pernica

Editorial

Marie Zdekov

Jitka Sloupov and Jana Patokov

Marie Reslov

Ivan ek

Marie Reslov

Jan Csa

Marie Reslov

Nina Malkov


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Since the beginning of the 1990s, when after the fall ofCommunism Czech society and with it the Czech theatre opened its doors to Europe, a process of recognition has beengoing on. Unfortunately this has been a little one-sided.Through the open doors into the Czech Republic flows theusual, established conditions of European democracy:political plurality and with it, corruption; a predominantlyconsumer life-style; information; fashion; social conflicts;

currents of thought and at the same time spiritual erosion. Toa greater measure than it could previously, the Czech theatrewoke up to the European context and absorbed it. There havebeen theatre festivals, guest appearances of Europeancompanies, active translators and theatre journals; thanks tothese, contemporary dramatic work (mostly of British andGerman origin) at last penetrated Czech theatre, its themesdealt with in a specific Czech way. The rising generation ofdirectors also discovered (though slowly) new stage media

and technology. Unfortunately, the Czech theatre with theexception of opera, dance and puppetry has up to nowscarcely been represented abroad.

In the 1990s the powerful generation of directors (Lbl,Morvek, Pitnsk, Nebesk), which had emerged from theamateur and alternative stage at the end of the 1980s,brought to the Czech theatre a new, very visual poetics ofstaging and a strongly subjective vision of the dramatic text.Today (with the tragic exception of Petr Lbl) they all work inthe major theatres. These were the directors who, in the

course of the decade, harvested the appreciation and interestof theatre critics. Their productions, responding primarily toa powerful individual imagination and a personal experienceof the themes, were a major influence on theatrical thoughtof that time. Their productions still belong to the mostinteresting in Czech theatre, in spite of the fact that all threedirectors have more or less successfully replenished theirpreviously invented, tried and experienced procedures. Lastyear Vladimr Morvek brought to an end his three-part

Chekhov cycle Chekhov for the Czechs in the KlicperaTheatre in Hradec Krlov with a production of Uncle Soleny,

and continues with his radical adaptations of Shakespeare(Romeo and Juliet in the National Theatre [Nrodn divadlo]in Prague). Jan Nebesk temporarily abandoned his belovedIbsen and in cooperation with the dramatist Egon Tobideveloped somewhat hermetic inward-looking themes offaith, love, guilt, truth and human existence the productionJE SUiS (after Georges Bernanos) and Je na ase, aby se TOzmnilo (Its Time for IT to Change, after mile Ajar).

J. A. Pitnsk continues to wander around Czech, Moravianand Slovak theatres with his sweeping visions: he directed anadaptation of Vladislav Vanuras Markta Lazarov for theNational Theatre in Prague, as a monumental collage indrama, movement and music; David Harowers Knives inHens in the Theatre on the Balustrades (Divadlo Nazbradl); and Dostojevskys Brothers Karamazov in theMoravian Slovak Theatre (Slovck divadlo) in UherskHradit. There have been interesting staging experiments byMiroslav Krobot (some of them of his own work) in theDejvice Theatre (Dejvick divadlo) The Three Sisters, Syrup.The Drama Club (inohern klub) again staged severalabove average premieres, the most interesting of thembeing the work of the young Czech actor and director OndejSokol The Lonesome West by the Irish dramatist MartinMcDonagh. For several years now the straight theatre in theCzech Republic has been lacking the kind of strikingproduction which provokes intense discussion and arousesunexpected and strong albeit contradictory reactions (as

did those of Lbl in the 1990s). Neither have there beenproductions which have been overwhelming simply bytheir exceptional professional quality.

Contemporary plays, originating both in the CzechRepublic and internationally, represent hope for the Czechtheatre. Their production is a natural way of forcing theatrecreators to formulate eternal themes in new circumstances,inspiring them to search for and express the dramatic tensionof society, its transformations and conflicts. It forces them tolook for a way by which these often formally very unusualtexts can enter into dialogue with the public. Somedirectors who didnt start working until after the end ofCommunism (for example Ji Pokorn) as well as sometheatres (the Drama Studio [inohern studio] of st nadLabem, HaTheatre [HaDivadlo], Goose on a String [Divadlo

/3THEATRES OVER THE WATER?

over theWater?

"William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet/ Nrodn divadlo Praha,2003 / Directed by Vladimr Morvek / Set design Jan M. ChocholouekCostumes Zuzana Krejzkov >Photo Viktor Kronbauer

Theatres| Editorial |


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Husa na provzku], the Dejvice Theatre, the Drama Club andnow even the National Theatre in Prague) have in the lastfew years systematically staged contemporary plays and

consciously searched for adequate means to stage themeffectively. It shows moreover that work witha contemporary dramatist enlivens the work of the companyon classic texts. There has also recently been an appreciableincrease in staged readings and one-off productions ofcontemporary stage plays (Eliades Library [Eliadovaknihovna] at the Theatre on the Balustrades, the DramaStudio of st nad Labem, the Casper Company [SpolekKapar] and others).

The generational change in the leadership of the dramacompany at the National Theatre is also hopeful. From thebeginning of the 1990s the theatre staggered along in somesort of crisis of perplexity between innovative ambitionsand security of the repertoire; from embarrassingproductions of rock-bottom contemporary plays (Podivnptci [Strange Birds], Den potom [The Day After], PtkOhnivk [The Firebird],Rodinn s dlo [Family Seat], vejkvvnuk [vejks Grandson]) through the more or lesssuccessful repertoire of the classics (A Servant of TwoMasters,Hadrin z ms [Hadrian of Rheum]) to somewhatcomically staged pseudo-experiments (Twelfth Night,Hamlet). The tension between a company of stars and thenewcomers from the alternative theatre which arrived on thepremier stage during the 1990s, not to mention the lack ofunderstanding and poor communication between theleadership of the drama company and the actors, had theeffect not so much of extreme crisis but more like some sortof blurred consciousness of the Czech Republics premier

stage. The partial success of some productions (MiroslavKrobots staging of Rok na vsi [A Year in the Village], J. A.Pitnsks Marya ) often sunk in a general muddy

impression of undefined and uneven direction of ournational drama. In mid-2002 Michal Doekal (b. 1965)became head of the drama company at the National Theatre.

He intends to overcome to a certain measure the provincialnature of the work and theatrical thought on this stage, andstrengthen awareness of the European context. Thepossibility that, in favourable circumstances, the plan can beachieved, is given credence by the work of the operacompany of the National Theatre which, over the last fiveyears, can pride itself on unforeseen results in theproduction field. Czech theatre directors and leading foreigndirectors make an appearance: David Radok, David

Pountney, Robert Wilson. Operas from this houseconfidently assumed first place in the critics rankings in2002, and they have three times carried off the highest Czechtheatre award the Alfrd Radok Prize for the besttheatrical production of the year.

The contemporary Czech theatre has more or less come toterms with changes in the financing of theatres and thepressures of the market environment. Evidence of this is thefact that small new theatre groups are coming into existence,capable (albeit with extreme effort) of covering theirexpenses from small grants or sponsorship. The financialsituation of the permanent repertoire theatres is poverty-stricken but stable. Further evidence of the relative health ofthe Czech theatre system is also the fact that it hashonourably overcome the consequences of last years floods;although several theatres have to work on temporary stages,not one of those companies has dissolved and not onetheatre has gone under. On the contrary, those theatres thatwere devastated by the floods will, after repair, end up in

a better technical and aesthetic condition than before.And the theatre in the Czech Republic has one more greatcause for hope in the future; audiences continue to increase.

THEATRES OVER THE WATER?4/

Theat res over the Wat er?

| Marie Reslov |


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Ref l ected i n the Prague Quadrenn i alCzech Stage Design

| Marie Zdekov |

PQ 1967, Leo Janek, The Makropulos SecretDivadlo Oldicha Stibora, Olomouc 1958

Design design Frantiek Trster >Photo archives


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In 1999 the Czech Republic won the big prize at the PQ the Golden Triga. Being aware of a fundamental conflict inthe traditional installation of stage works, when a creationintended to be seen in time and space is, at an exhibition,limited to the flatness of photographs and time squeezedmaximally to a video showing, we decided to capture the ideain its process of development from inspiration to realisation,thus allowing its information to be perceived more exactly anda comparison offered of the intentions and aims achieved. Weapproached eight contemporary designers with experience offilm and television as well as the theatre, and whose workoften extends into other related fields. (In the end there were

only seven; one of them, architect Jindich Smetana, was atthat time preoccupied with the project for the ElizabethanGlobe Theatre, a few hundred yards from the Palace ofIndustry the site of the PQ.) This intention, presented by thecommissars and scriptwriters of the exhibition SimonaRybkov and Michal Caban in the PQ catalogue (thequotation above), was not realised in its ideal form, butnevertheless, the exhibit was both effective and successful.

To remind ourselves of the context, we have to look back.The PQ has grown hugely since its establishment. As early as

the 1970s some voices (experts amongst them) said that theexhibition was almost depressingly extensive in theinformation offered. Even though the members of theinternational jury were expected to have an intensive interestand expert erudition, in light of the fact they had to choosefrom a huge number of exhibits in a limited time, even theyconfronted a surfeit of material. Both the lay and the expertvisitor to the PQ welcomed any kind of innovation in themethod of presentation which highlighted it, made it special,since this welcome change brought a revived ability toperceive. To begin with there were installation experiments,evoking the world of a particular production (the installation

of the West German exhibit at PQ 83 represented a parchedfield of stubble the landscape of JaneksKa Kabanov).Later there were installations which to some extent setthemselves adrift from the portrayal of concrete artistic actsand represented a particular aesthetic style.

When, at the PQ 87, the Golden Triga was awarded to theUSA by an entirely Czechoslovak jury, not international,I might have suspected the award was the outcome of theCzechoslovak dream of America. The installation was madefrom a hyper-realist macquette of a life size design

CZECH STAGE DESIGN REFLECTED IN THE PRAGUE QUADRENNIAL6/

The Prague Quadrennial, the competitive international festival of stage design and theatre

architecture, began in 1967. Designers and architects from Europe, America, Asia and Africa gather in

Prague every four years, competing for the big prize the Golden Triga as well as gold and silver medalsand other awards. But the chief reason is to meet each other and their work. For as long the Czechs and

Slovaks lived in one state they exhibited jointly. The specific Czech and Slovak styles were considered as

natural variety within one common home. Beginning with PQ 95, the Czechs and Slovaks have exhibited

independently.

To start with Czechoslovakia, as the host country, did not participate in the international competition.

That did not change until 1991, the first PQ after the velvet revolution.

Apart from sections for national exhibits and for architecture, the PQ has a schools section (theatre

schools and art schools where stage design is taught), and a comparative section, an opportunity for

individual countries to prepare work on a common theme (for example, Mozart operas, the plays of

Shakespeare and Chekhov, freely assigned themes such as Homage to Stage Design at PQ 99).

Th e Czech Exh i bi t at PQ 99 to Success th rough Hi gh l i gh t i ng


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(scenographic) studio, both attractive and provocative in itspromotional razzamatazz of the western style. Individualdesigns and photographs were understandably lost in it, orserved only as somewhat subdued but essential fragments in

an intentionally confused three-dimensional mosaic. Theform (the installation) unambiguously suppressed thecontent (the design itself). It became a theatre: thevisitor/audience member could seem like a second actor,made special by a stage dcor prepared just for him/her.

For a long time the Czech (and Slovak) method ofpresenting stage design avoided experimentation. It was onlywith the last joint Czech-Slovak exhibit at PQ 91 (the firstafter the velvet revolution) that a theatrical concept ofexhibiting theatre was tried, even having the formulated

theme production. The authors and scriptwriters VraPtkov (theoretician, Czech Republic) and Milan Ferenk(stage designer, Slovakia) set our theatrical activity of fortyyears with an opening to hope in high dark palisades,reminiscent of the keel of a ship, underpinned by a simulatedpavement (there had been street demonstrations in livingmemory). However, the Czech and Slovak macquettesseemed a little lost, like discarded objects in thismonumentalising space which evoked both a voyage and the

isolation of working in the communist prison. Thespectators attention was drawn more by the view of PragueCastle through a glass wall. A certain kind of feeling, in touchwith contemporary production vision, was induced by TomRusns object situated in front of the exhibit casts of oldwomens hands creeping over the surface of a moderatelyover-sized chair (J. A. Pitnsk: Mother).

In its result, the Czech exhibit at PQ 99 did not fulfil itscommission; however, after a lapse of time (onlyarchitecture was exhibited at PQ 95) it did open itself to

contemporary stage design. To a large measure its success wasowed precisely to the fact that it was a direct answer to theexhausted visitors need to find some space, a highlight, to lethim/her be gradually surprised and absorbed, and thus toaccept his/her own role in the installation as a whole. Thecreators called their stand a building site. They isolated it

from its surroundings by corrugated iron, thus creatinga promise of something hidden from the public because it wasunfinished, because something was still going on (theprocess). However, inside the visitor/actor entereda completely finished space, irregularly divided into segments

""/ The West German Exposition, PQ 1983 / Leo Janek,Katya Kabanova/ Design Jrgen Dreier >Photo archives

"The American Exposition, PQ 1987 >Photo archives

#The Czech Exposition, PQ 1991 >Photo archives

$The Czech-Slovak Exposition, PQ 1991 >Photo Vojtch Psak

$$The Czech-Slovak Exposition, PQ 1991 / J. A. Pitnsk, MatkaDesign Tom Rusn >Photo archives

$%The Czech Exposition, PQ 1999 >Photo archives

inhabited by different designers. Most of them exhibitedfinished work (photographs, models, costumes) particularisedby a framework/environment and the method of presentation.The entrance to the exhibition and the hall was decorated byPetr Matseks puppets and the Arcimboldo-style Manneristcostumes of Simona Rybkov (a crinoline made of a fruit)

which as finished artistic artefacts contrasted with theworking envelope of the exhibit. The chambers on the firstfloor were more closed and intimate, as though the individualdesigners had invited the visitor in privately, then were hidingin a corner, waiting to see what he/she thought of it.


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Photographs of the purist, but in their own way effective,sets of Ondej Nekvasil were exhibited in a white tunnelwhose narrowing perspective provided the visitor witha pleasant feeling of tension with a flavour of sci-fi mystery.

Daniel Dvok on the other hand chose a black cabinet in

which small slides of intensely coloured sets had the effect ofbrilliantly coloured butterflies pinned on black velvet.

Kateina tefkov made a nest for her work in a boudoir.The stylised furniture, as though from a theatre props room,created a pleasing museum-style composition with costumesvariously hung and draped around as in a theatre dressingroom. The walls were decorated with framed, toned blackand white photographs in which actors in costumes posed onthe model of archaic cabinets. The spirits of Emma Destinn

and Sarah Bernhardt floated in the air, although there was noother indication of them than the fulsomely decorated styleof the costumes. The whole arrangement was reminiscent ofthe stylistically decorated foyer of the designers hometheatre the Prague Theatre on the Balustrades (Divadlo Nazbradl) and above all a concept of the theatre (inparticular backstage) as a cult place.

Black and white photographs created the atmosphere ofa cubby-hole for Jana Prekov (Gold Medal for costumes),

filled with blue X-ray lighting. Photographs of actors incostume hanging on the walls were stylised into the portraitsof lonely lost souls. Their anxious and grief-riddenexistential haze inspired one to look through the photographalbums on the table (how much willingness and patience dovisitors to the PQ usually have for looking throughphotograph albums?) The unmistakeable lens of BohdanHolomek had captured the simple, decorative andstylistically costumes of Jana Prekov in productions fromthe kindred Comedy Theatre (Divadlo Komedie).

The studio of imon Caban, in which in the middle ofa colourful working disorder he had portrayed himself witha TV screen in place of a head, was strongly reminiscent ofthe American exhibit at PQ 87. Only in this case one couldspeak of the creative process, captured of course in its

superficial display through a key hole. What is moreimportant is that this chaotic, in its way attractive,environment evoked the demonstrative inclination towardssuperficiality by which the Baletn jednotka Ke (Ballet UnitSpasm, an amateur group with the ambitions of perfectionist

professionals founded by Caban and Rybkov) had underthe totalitarian period of Communism upset the written andunwritten obligation for a work to have thought content.And moreover, was cheekily seduced by the superficialityof western consumer society.

Almost all the exhibiting designers came from what wasunder Communism the alternative culture or from thealternative (opposition) stream of the official culture.Dvok, Caban and Rybkov were later successful in

voyaging into the waters of the big theatres andshowbusiness, without essentially veering from their ownstyle. Their Post-modern orientation is just as acceptable atthe National Theatre as it is for advertising clips andoccasional irregular events.

The theatricality of the Czech exhibit was not unique.The ambition and creative desire to base an exhibit on aninstallation which could function as a highlight of PQ 99expressed itself very powerfully. Even the content of someexhibitions, documenting actual productions, betrayed aninclination towards spectacle (Spain-Catalania). If we look atthe matter from another, more serious side, we can note aninterest in a strikingly visual theatre, in the visualisation ofthe whole staged project (the award-winning designer anddirector Achim Freyer PQ 99). As though they were sought-after, the cases when set design plays the main role in theproduction.

$The Czech Exposition, PQ 1999/ Designers:

a.Ondej Nekvasil / b.Kateina tefkovc.Jana Prekov / d.imon Caban >Photos archives

The Czech Exposition, PQ 1999Costumes Simona Rybkov >Photo archives

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PQ 19

The Czech Exposi t i on, PQ 1999


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/9CZECH STAGE DESIGN REFLECTED IN THE PRAGUE QUADRENNIAL

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99CZECH STAGE DESIGN REFLECTED IN THE PRAGUE QUADRENNIAL10/

"William Shakespeare, HamletDivadlo Komedie, Praha, 1994Directed by Jan Nebesk / Set Josef BernekCostumes Jana Prekov>Photo Bohdan Holomek

%Pedro Caldern de la Barca,

Daughter of the GaleDivadlo Komedie, Praha, 1998Directed by Jan NebeskSet and costumes Jana Prekov>Photo Bohdan Holomek


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Czechs and Slovaks did not participate in the internationalcompetition at PQ 67, but they did compete independently against each other. They entered this first year with laurelsfrom the International Biennial of stage design in Sao Paulo inBrazil: an independent honorary section of the exhibition wasdemarcated for the laureates Frantiek Trster, Josef Svobodaand Ladislav Vychodil. The two Czech and one Slovak designer

had given Czechoslovak stage design added confidence.

measure in major theatres abroad) could not adequately besqueezed into the framework of a surface design, evena three-dimensional macquette could only suggest in roughoutlines rather than express the work as a whole. This couldbetter be shown in high-quality photographs of productions,for a long time sorely missing. Svobodas influence oninternational theatre and set design was so strong (andrecognisable in some foreign stage designers) that there wasno need to push his work for exhibition. The participation ofSvoboda and Vychodil at the PQ was repeatedly understood asa guarantee of the quality of our set design (the Gold Medal atPQ 87 for lifetime achievement).


#"PQ 1967Jean Cocteau,

The Knigts of the RoundTable/ Nrodn divadlo,Praha, 1937Design Frantiek Trster

#PQ 1987Richard Strauss,Die Frau ohne SchattenGran d Thtre de Genve,

1978 / Design Josef Svoboda

$PQ 1987P. I. Tchaikovsky,Eugene OneginSttn divadlo, Brno 1982Design Ladislav Vychodil>Photos archives

Th e Case of Czech St age Desi gn or, W hat We Saw

an d Di d Not See at t he PQ

Trster, in his retrospective (designs from the 1930s)appeared as the true founding personality from whomdeveloped what was essential in modern Czech stage design,even though the work of a successor does not at first sightshow a direct and apparent connection with his work (forexample, Jaroslav Malina who did not exhibit until PQ 71 set out on a completely different journey, in spite of thefact that in his work he respected his teacher and his feeling

for the three-dimensional dramatic quality of space).Trsters designs are both set designs and pictures; theirevidence of the dramatic charge of space is eloquent even ona restricted surface. Some of them are effective in theirexpressive abbreviation the deformation or the angle ofview in an almost aural way: like shrieks.

Ladislav Vychodil combined a grandiose concept of spacewith a view of the stage as a visual picture containingmetaphoric signs.

Svoboda developed Trsters legacy vigorously to the full;a dynamically mutable architecture thinks about the basicperipeteia of the dramatic actor, on the placing of the actor inspace, the arrangement, the light. Svobodas magic, realisedwith the help of the most modern techniques (to a large


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The world of the productions of other Czech stagedesigners (Vladimr Nvlt, Zbynk Kol, Vladimr rmek,Milo Tomek, Kvtoslav Bubenk) whose work reigned

supreme in the first years of the PQ (1967, 1971) fitted ontoa flat surface without too much distortion. These designersdid not neglect the use of space; they used architecturalelements of a form of spacial collage, but their concepts werefounded on a view oriented from the auditorium towards thepicture anchored in the frame of a proscenium arch. Thecreativity of these stage designers relied on the dividing up ofabstract shapes, the rhythmic articulation of the floor(architecture) or on the composition of metaphoric details

(picture), and largely a combination of the two principles.Two set designers exhibited at the first PQ who, in the

context of their cooperation with directors of the youngergeneration (Jan Kaer, Evald Schorm), brought a newaesthetic opinion, if not a new concept of space. In the workof Lubo Hrza (Silver Medal 1967 and 1971) and OtakarSchindler we could observe the elements of a laterdevelopment, chiefly a liking for non-theatrical, raw,sometimes worn or patinated material and for ordinary

#PQ 1967 / Niccol Machiavelli, La Mandragola/ inohern klub,Praha 1966 / Design Lubo Hrza >Photo archives

$PQ 1975 / Edward Bond, Early Morning/ ASP, Warszawa 1974Design Marta Roszkopfov >Photo archives

#PQ 1975 / Giordano Bruno, Il Candelaio/ Divadlo F. X. aldy,Liberec 1971 / Design Jaroslav Malina >Photo archives

%PQ 1987 / Antonn Dvok, Armida/ Nrodn divadlo, Praha 1987Design Vladimr Nvlt >Photo archives


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in the F. X. alda Theatre in Liberec, Marta Roszkopfov andthe dramaturgically challenging activity of the the PetrBezru Theatre in the industrial city of Ostrava, Jan Konen

and the auteur team of the HaTheatre (HaDivadlo) in Brno.The presentation of the set designs of Jozef Ciller (Gold

Medal in 1975 and 1983, Silver Medal in 1987), turned outrelatively well. Ciller, a Slovak designer who enriched thestages of the Czech theatres (and not the only Slovakdesigner to do so) was particularly successful with workswhich strove for a non-traditional concept of space (Theatreon a String [Divadlo na provzku] in Brno). Witha macquette of an arena confined within a cage and

surrounded on every side by benches for the audience Cillerindicated the essence of a staging principle founded on theopenness of the relationship between the audience and theactor (Peter Scherhaufer: Eleven Days of the CruiserPotemkin, PQ 75).

The antithesis of action scenography was presented duringthe PQ by the designer Jan Vanura, a loner in contemporaryCzech stage design. He began to exhibit in 1979 (at that t imean open stage and costumes inspired by industrial design forKarel and Josef apeksInsect Play). Independent of the older

generation he innovated and reappraised the painted type ofset design. His hyper-realist, attractively coloured designswhich one is tempted to hang on the wall at home, could notbe overlooked (nobody had to cudgel their brains about howto exhibit them). The inclination towards romanticallypainted flats (conceived of course in space and witha measure of contemporary stylisation), the decorativefantasy of the costumes, a liking for harmony and order andsome sort of retro delectability functioned well for both the

visitors and the jury, and were pleasantly refreshing in thelabyrinth of the PQ (two Silver Medals in 1979 and 1983, oneGold Medal in 1991). This designer unwittingly demonstratedhis independence of the trends of the period and anticipatedthe new tendencies which broke out in force at the turn of themillennium and became evident at the Czech exhibitionPQ99: emphasis on spectacle and immoderate visual qualityof set design with an inclination to quote elements ofhistorical styles.

CZECH STAGE DESIGN REFLECTED IN THE PRAGUE QUADRENNIAL14/

##PQ 1987 / Italo Calvino, Il barone rampanteMstsk divadla prask, Praha 1985 / Design Jaroslav Malina>Photo Dalibor imnek

#PQ 1975 / Peter Scherhaufer, Eleven Days of the CruiserPotemkin/ Divadlo na provzku, Brno 1972Design Jozef Ciller >Photo archives

$PQ 1987 / W. A. Mozart, The Magic Flute/ Sttn divadloF. X. aldy, Liberec 1986 / Design Jan Vanura >Photo archives

Melena were not attractive and inspiring as exhibits.However, they were hints rather than evidence; the essenceof action scenography to a fair degree remained concealedbehind the walls of the theatre. At the same time, it was veryinteresting to try to represent the poetics of some theatresand teams with which the individual designers wereconnected (Jaroslav Malina and the era of director Karel K


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relationship Czechs and Slovaks have with the dramatistfrom their oppressor country, who paradoxically broughtfreedom to their work by his incorruptibly critical spirit.Otakar Schindler, Jozef Ciller and others showed off indifferent ways that they knew how to listen to andunderstand the world of Chekhovs dramas. Theydemonstrated a particular confidence in staging and anunencumbered dispassion in style.

The comparative sections at PQ 79, 83 and 87introduced themes close to Czech stage design. In 1979 thetheme was the puppet. The Czech puppet has behind ita rich craft tradition which its creators were able to use withcontemporary stylised dispassion. The wooden actors of PetrMatsek, Pavel Kalfus and Frantiek Vtek (Silver Medal inthe thematic section) make their effect by their ownexpressiveness and look like beings waiting to be brought tolife. However, at the PQ the Czechs presented an essentially

traditional concept of the puppet, whilst some countries

"PQ 1983 /Jn Cikker, The Resurrection/ Nrodn divadlo, Praha1962 / Design Zbynk Kol >Photo archives

#PQ 1979 / Jnok / Vchodoesk loutkov divadlo DRAK,

Hradec Krlov 1975 / Puppets Frantiek Vtek >Photo archives

$PQ 1987 / A. P. Chekhov, The Seagull/ Hrvatsko narodne kazalite,Zagreb 1976 / Design Otakar Schindler >Photo archives

A V i ew of th e Themat i c Sect i on

took a less charming but more forceful attitude to thesubject, and used the ability of the lifeless figurines to playout the impersonal or deformed nature of human existence(West Germany, Great Britain).

Stage design for music theatre works by Czech andSlovak authors was the comparative section theme for PQ83. In this section the Czech Zbynk Kol won the SilverMedal for a sternly sombre spacial solution for the Slovakcomposer Jn Cikkers opera The Resurrection. It was

interesting that most countries from abroad exhibitedproductions of Leo Janeks operas; productions full ofinterest and understanding, such as for example WestGermany, winner of the Golden Triga, one of the first tocreate a theatrical installation in the form of an effectivelife-size dcor.

The theme productions of plays by Chekhov in 1987provided an opportunity to make public the strong


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16/ CZECH STAGE DESIGN REFLECTED IN THE PRAGUE QUADRENNIAL

Czech Stage Desi gn Ref l ected i n the Prague Quad renn i al

Bef ore PQ 2003

The success of the Czech stage designers at PQ 99 did notmean they had definitively solved the problem of how toexhibit. It would be splendid if at PQ 2003 their exhibit is notjust full of ideas of staging, but really tries to capturetendencies and directions which are worth attention in thecontemporary state of Czech stage design. The visual side ofthe production is more and more dependent on the director(we could even speak of visual direction). Stage designoriginates through the close cooperation of the director with

his/her kindred designer (Jan Antonn Pitnsk TomRusn, Jan tpnek; Jan Nebesk Jana Prekov; Vladimr

Morvek Ale Votava, Martin Chocholouek; Michal Doekal David Marek, Zuzana Krejzkov; Ji Pokorn Petr B.Novk). In some cases (Morvek, Doekal) the visual concept

of the director is dominant. The durability or looseness ofthese teams varies. The more the director is a scenographer,the wider the circle of stage designers with whom he/sheworks (Morvek). Post-modern multifariousness freed a widerange of expressive media which in the context of oneproduction can be structured by a theatrical personality intoa certain order and style. In some productions Baroquespectacle proliferates (guided and controlled), in others thevisual expression is more modest and muted; for the most part

however (in truly fundamental staging initiatives) it sharesdecisively in the purport and meaning of a production.

Joseph Roth, Jobe/ HaDivadlo, Brno 1996 / Design Tom Rusn>Photo Martin Vybral Vladislav Vanura,Markta Lazarov/ Nrodn divadlo, Praha 2002

Design Jan tpnek >Photo Hana Smejkalov


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What led a successful stage designer and architect to

make an application for the selection proceedings for

author of the Czech Exposition at PQ 2003?

For some time now it has been obvious that in Czech stagedesign there exists a trend or tendency which is representedby a group of artists whose work cannot be overlooked in thetheatre but which has not so far been presented in the

appropriate context. Perhaps this is also because stage designhas had less opportunity in recent years to present itself tothe public Stage Design Salons, for instance, have ceased totake place. PQ is the ideal opportunity for formulating andexpressing this feeling. When I look back at past years of PQ,I was always most taken by those exhibitions whichdemonstrated a clear opinion concerning stage design andthe theatre. Perhaps only as a sector of the wide range ofstage design in one country or another. It is this which

I would like to attempt. Naturally I have also consideredwhether it would not be more correct to leave this work to thetheorists, whether it is right for an active artist to exhibit hiscolleagues, whether this is not overweening self-confidence Unfortunately there was nobody to leave the work to as no

theorist was ready to take it on. This may be because nobodyyounger has taken systematic interest in stage designrecently.

Could you introduce us to the group of stage designers

concerned by this restricted concept of the work?

This is a group of people who express themselves in

a similar manner, even though their actual work is sometimesvery different. It is not restricted with regard to generation orto study at a specific school or to the influence of somepersonality. Specific to this group of stage designers is chieflythe way of working, the way of considering the text of a playand co-operation with a certain group of directors. From thisthere emerge varying teams which are linked by similarperception of the pictorial side of the theatre. In Bohemiasome time ago there was a group of stage designers defined

in this manner which was represented, for instance, by thenames of Melena, Malina, Duek and Matsek. Strongpersonalities with whose influence we are actually stillcoping today. In connection with their work we talk of so-called action stage design. Typical of this was work with

Theatreof Pi ctu res

I nter vi ew w i th David Marek ,curat or of the Czech Exposi t i on at PQ 2003

O O O O O Q18/


20/68

plastic elements in space and in time, the dynamics of thesign in the theatre, etc. The stage designers I decided toexhibit at this years PQ are more interested in the symbolicaspect of theatre, its visual poetry. They try to designate theindividual scenes or appearances poetically, with a picture.They are not interested in the continuous construction of theproduction as transformations of a single space. Theindividual pictures sets of the production are foundalongside one another in linear fashion and each of them, so

to speak, gives its own view of the text. And it is, in fact,beside the point whether the artist uses architectural meansfor this or perhaps real objects drawn into the play. Thesestage designers do not want to become visual artistspresenting their own handwriting in the conception of thescenic space. They think more of the composition of theindividual scenes of the production and of the preparation ofsituations which almost suggest reality.

You are saying that the exhibited stage designers work with

the picture, with the atmosphere of the situation, with the

poetic designation of the individual scenes, with the

expression of subjective feeling arising from the text or

a certain part of it which is actually made substance in the

design of the sets. Part of this design of the sets must

therefore necessarily also be the actor and his arrangement.

This means that the co-operation of the stage designer with

the director must be very close.

Definitely. The mise-en-scene is in fact a kind ofcomposition. There is no central stage object here whichstarts up and changes in significance. It is more like a score.In form it comes close to the film scenario. These pictures

cannot, of course, function without the actions ofthe players. And they also represent thehandwriting of the director. This is why at PQI want to display teams: director stage designer possibly also the costume designer. Without thecharacteristic handwriting of the individualdirectors we could never put this exhibitiontogether, it would not work. These directors also,

so to speak, dissect the text of the play, concentrateon its individual scenes and then put themtogether as a composition. This is an attempt tocreate a composition of the production fromseveral different levels and then combine them.Sometimes the individual scenes give theimpression that the stage design is descriptive. Butthe important thing is the whole. And the co-operation of the director with the stage designer

has the main say.PQ is a competitive review, the origin of the exhibitedworks is restricted to a certain period of time. I am limited bythis. But the teams which I wish to exhibit display the originsof this creative period perhaps several years earlier. AndI would like to document this longer development. The co-operation of Jan Nebesk and Jana Prekov, for instance, haslasted almost twenty years.

In this group of artists and directors there also existssomething in the nature of typical dramaturgy: these are new

views of the great dramas the plays of Shakespeare, Rostandand Ibsen, of classical Czech works and also productionattempts at texts hitherto untried in the theatre into which

THEATRE OF PICTURES INTERVIEW WITH DAVID MAREK, CURATOR OF THE CZECH EXPOSITION AT PQ 200318/

Mark Ravenhill, Faust (Faust is Dead)/ Kabinet mz, Brno 2000Directed by Ji Pokorn / Set Petr B. Novk / Costumes Kateina tefkov>Photo Ivan Kuk

Peter Handke, The Strange Woman/ Divadlo Komedie,Praha 1999 / Adapted by J. A. Pitnsk and Marek HorokDirected by J. A. Pitnsk / Set Tom Rusn / Costumes Zuzanatefunkov and Alena Pivoka >Photo Bohdan Holomek


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In the work of one artist one can easily distinguish theproductions of the individual directors. The stage designer isnot expected to be an artist with his own handwriting, butrather someone who helps the director to create his visionand pictures, to capture the significant moment. It is actuallyvery difficult to describe the personal signature of theindividual stage designers it is easier to speak of the meanswhich they use. These are often absolutely simple popularitems are white projection foil, light, colour. Sometimes the

effect is even austere. I think that this vision of the stagespace is greatly influenced by Bob Wilson. Stage designerstry to work more architecturally or, on the contrary ina documentary, visually descriptive fashion. It does notreally matter whether it is a hyper-realistic scene where they

use absolutely realistic items, or a white floor with a bluehorizon. In this mosaic of situations both may act likea picture and under certain circumstances the means issimilar. Popular elements are Perspex or sand.

You are saying that on the stage it is actually possible to use

anything, that it is difficult to specify the style of these stage

designs. But is their common trait not the effort to create

through a concrete object, atmosphere or the character of thespace a strong emotional stimulus and address more the

emotional than the rational memory? The memory of some

experience? I often find that I am unable or unwilling to

analyse why concretely one thing or another is on the stage,

Iva Volnkov, 22 Anxiety Street/ Nrodn divadlo, Praha 2003Directed by Ji Pokorn / Set Petr B. Novk / Costumes Zuzana Krejzkov>Photo Martin pelda

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet/ Nrodn divadlo, Praha 2003Directed by Vladimr Morvek / Set Jan M. ChocholouekCostumes Zuzana Krejzkov >Photo Viktor Kronbauer

the stage designer and the director try to enter purelythrough pictures. In this connection I would like to exhibitthe stage settings from the inohern studio (Drama Studio)

in st nad Labem connected with the work of director JiPokorn, or those from the HaDivadlo (HaTheatre) in Brnoand from the Plze Opera.

I asked myself who or what is actually the supportingpillar for this viewpoint of the theatre. Is it the individualtheatres? The artists? Undoubtedly it is the directors.Although I cannot imagine directors such as Pitnsk,Nebesk, Morvek, Doekal and Pokorn manifesting theirjoint view of the theatre anywhere, I nevertheless think that

it will prove its existence when I exhibit their productionsalongside one another in the Czech Exhibition at PQ,because the way in which they work with the visual side oftheir production is similar in many ways. Stage designer Jantpnek, for instance, works with Pitnsk, with Pokornand lately also with Nebesk.



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but I perceive how strongly some scenes evoke my memories

and impressions.

Yes, this is the idea of the individual scenes. In this casethe link with the action is seen rather from a distance. Therational significance of particular connections and meansneed not always be clarified for us. Each scene is considered,as it were, separately from the others. Through the scene wetry to open up, to recognise each situation from within, oftenby evoking concrete circumstances, concrete objects... Forexample: this is the situation where someone misses the lasttrain and sits alone in the cold station

This way of working has, of course, one danger and thatis communication. It depends on how one stretches out.Some intimate experience is that strong and intensive, but

only for some people, individually. It is not generallycomprehensible. But if, on the other hand, they begin to usepictures which are generally valid, then the impression isdisgustingly cheap and we descend to the level of theatricalpop. Between these two extremes we move over the entirerange. We consider how far we can go, what language toselect if someone is to be at all able to listen.

What does the co-operation of the stage designer and the

director over the text actually look like?

Usually we bring one another lots of pictorialdocumentation things which fascinate us in connectionwith the text, pictures, cuttings Things which seem to us tocapture exactly the atmosphere of a certain situation. This ismade up of details, splinters. From personal experience.Naturally we also talk about the idea of the production asa whole, but very often this idea of ours undergoes quite

significant changes in the course of the work. We try for thespiritual precision of the description of the situation.

In connection with the work of the directors and artists we

are talking about something appears which might be termed

the humour of subjects or the irony of styles.

This has great development. First of all various styles were

quoted. Someone said: We will do this scene like Baroquetheatre, for instance. This intoxication with the wildness ofthe pictures and the confrontation of styles is actually quite


Are you now thinking of the King Lear which

you did with Doekal?

Perhaps. Because I cannot speak for the others.This is an absolutely concrete instance. Or the lastscene fromMarya by the Mrtk brothers which wasstaged in the National Theatre by J. A. Pitnsk withJan tpnek. It looks like an aerial view. Thepoisoned Vvra is lying in the field. Suddenly thescale changes and the man appears terribly small inthe midst of the wheat. It is a view of a landscape

which appears in this production on several furtherlevels. It acts as a catalyst this emotionalperception suddenly makes other scenes in thisproduction clear to us. And through this one realises:yes, I know this situation.

William Shakespeare, King Lear/ Divadlo Komedie, Praha 1998Directed by Michal Doekal / Set David Marek / Costumes Zuzana Krejzkov>Photo Vanda Hybnerov

Alois Jirsek, The Lantern/ Nrodn divadlo, Praha 2001Directed by Vladimr Morvek / Set Ale Votava and Alois MikulkaCostumes Alexandra Gruskov >Photo Hana Smejkalov

/21THEATRE OF PICTURES


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/21

INTER

VIEWWITH

DAVIDMAREK,AUTHOROFTHECZECHEXPOSITIONATPQ2003

impersonal and this desire to utilise, to abuse some view, toironise it, has vanished to a considerable extent recently. Thetheatre wants to be more personal, more intimate, more

intense. It wants the feelings it evokes to be more true to life.Irony and sneers, the intellectual withdrawal, are vanishing.It is beginning to be clear that it is important to engage as anartist personally, not to fear emotion, to be more open, moresincere.

Mrtk bros, Marya/ Nrodn divadlo, Praha 1999Directed by J. A. Pitnsk / Set Jan tpnek / Costumes Jana Prekov>Photo Hana Smejkalov

A. P. Chekhov, Ivanov/ Divadlo Na zbradl, Praha 1997Directed and set by Petr Lbl / Costumes Kateina tefkov>Photo Martin pelda

One name has been mentioned as an inspiration

Robert Wilson. We met his work at large only last

year in Bohemia in the production of Janeks Fate.

His work could probably not have been that basic

starting-point for a whole generation of Czech stage

designers and directors. Where do you yourself see

the beginning and the sources of this manner of

seeing the theatre and working?

That can be precisely analysed better by someonelooking at this from outside. But I think that this isconnected with the desire to achieve some visualexperience, some awakening. Perhaps now there willbe a period of greater visual modesty and intimacy.The first half of the nineties was very broken-upemotionally. There were tangles and clusters ofpictures. This is the period of the work of director and

stage designer Petr Lbl, which I cannotunfortunately include in my exhibition as a whole.His work is, of course, at the beginning of thisfragmentation of the mise-en-scene into theindividual scenes pictures.

Lenka Lagronov, Terezka/ Divadlo Komedie, Praha 1997 / Directed by Jan NebeskSet and costumes Jana Prekov >Photo Bohdan Holomek

THEATRE OF PICTURES22/


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Is it possible to say that he was the first to formulate this

vision of the theatre emphatically in the Czech theatre?

Theatre as a surprise

and at the same time a concrete designation. We enteredthe theatre at a time when the principle of indication wasgenerally popular. And in addition everything symbolisedsomething. This was exceedingly abstract. I think that thiswas the source of the desire to address the audience withcompletely concrete pictures. With a concrete emotion. Not

directors I have mentioned could rightly object that heachieved this manner of expression in his own way. Now weare again somewhat further on, even in the composition ofthe pictures. Perhaps too far away. Suddenly one feels fromthe stage a wave of aestheticism, even mannerism. What ispretty can be beautifully abused and repeated light shines

on it, clear and beautiful forms This vision of the theatrematured in the first half of the nineties and could probablyalready do with new impulses.

22/

a general one. It was often said with enthusiasm how manyassociations one piece of cloth can evoke This is all verynice, but I am interested in a concrete human situation. It isthe same with new theatrical texts: they are concrete, cruel,they address one more directly, they concern one more. Lblwas perhaps the first to express this. He was also

uncompromising in the concrete designation: Strou-penicks Na i furianti (Our Swaggerers) in nationalcostume. And all women with handbags. But each of the

Edmond Rostand, Cyrano de Bergerac/ Nrodn divadlo, Praha 2002 / Directed by Michal Doekal / Set David Marek / Costumes Zuzana Krejzkov>Photo Martin pelda

Theat re of Pictu resInt ervi ew w it h David M arek, cura tor of the Czech Exposit ion at PQ 2003


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. . .and Vi k tor Kr onbauer Photographed

Hudebn divadlo v Karln (The Music Theatre Karln)


26/68

"The Globe Theatre, Prague #The Spirla Theatre


27/68

"The Theatre on Dlouh Street #The Roxy Theatre


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"The studio of the renown Czech theatre photographer Jaroslav Krej before the floods #The same studio after the catastrophy


29/68

Jitka Sloupov and Jana Patokov


30/68

The photograph of the yellow inflatable raft cutting acrossthe flooded balcony in the Theatre on Dlouh Street inPrague has become a symbol of the greatest catastrophe to

theatres all over our country, the most extensive damageoccurring in Prague.

Other photographs and information describing thecondition of the theatres under water, provide the samedismal impression flooded foyers, warped wood, mildewingwalls, saturated seats, destroyed scenery, deposits of smellymud everywhere in unbelievable disarray.

The catastrophic floods which in August 2002 invaded theriver basins of all the major Czech rivers, were responsible

not only for loss of life, of property, and of heritage sites, butalso for damage to theatres and halls which affected the livingart of actors, singers and dancers. It was not only the centralpart of the Prague metro which ended up under water, butalso the cellars of the National Theatre and whole theatres,which in Prague are often in the basements of buildings.

Fifteen theatres in the capital city were damaged, and theopening of the season postponed. Outside Prague, theinohern studio (Drama Studio) of st nad Labem, theMiroslav Hornek Theatre in Pilsen, the Central European

Colony of Contemporary Art in Terezn and the Metropol inesk Budjovice, home to the Jihoesk divadlo (SouthBohemian Theatre), were all seriously damaged. Another fivetheatres in the Czech Republic were partly flooded, but ableto open the season in September.

In addition to damage to lighting and sound equipment,theatre costumes, properties and sets that could not bemoved during the flooding, some theatres have sufferedanother kind of loss: their archival material and personal

collections acquired over decades were also destroyed by theflood water. The DAMU theatre academy in particular lostpart of its library collection.

The preliminary estimate of damages to the theatres

alone is approximately 500 million K, or 16.7 million Euro.

The following table gives more detailed information aboutthe extent of the damage to Czech theatres:

"The flooded Archa Theatre

""The Theatre on Dlouh Street>Photos archives

Ni ne mont h s have passed

and the most seriously damaged stages in Prague are stillwrestling with the consequences of the great flood.

How was their season? The consequences of the flooding,out in the open scarcely perceptible today, are that muchmore serious in the theatres, in that the loss, howevertemporary, of their own premises (often in basements) pulls

the rug from under the feet of the permanent companies.These companies, the traditional basis of the Czech (andcentral European) theatre world because they work witha long term horizon and create and maintain a rotatingrepertoire must now demonstrate (apart from artisticabilities) an exceptional physical and psychic stamina. Longtours and moving from one temporary refuge to another,unattractive material conditions, all this has a demoralisingeffect on companies if the provisional state lasts too long.What can keep them going is a feasible perspective of thefuture, based on intensive cooperation, practice, adaptationand servicing the repertoire, and above all on thepreparation of new productions (and, implicitly understood,the financial security for this activity).

Theatres that were only slightly damaged, such as forexample the Divadlo Na zbradl (Theatre on theBalustrades), could open the season with only a short delay,and still offer to host other companies. Of those who sufferedmore, the Divadlo pod Palmovkou (Theatre Below Palmovka)

came off best: for the few months the company went on tour,its audience could anticipate a refurbished auditorium by theend of the season, on 14 March.

The management of the Divadlo v Dlouh (Theatre onDlouh Street), whose underground auditorium was eightmetres under water, immediately realised that repairs wouldtake a long time and they would have to continue in anotherlocality. So whilst water was being pumped from theauditorium and it was left to dry out, the company went on

tour round the whole country, and also started rehearsing. InNovember they succeeded in opening a new production(Ronald Harwoods The Dresser) on the host stage of theTheatre on the Balustrades, where it continues. Today thecompany alternates between five different Prague theatres(they perform a revival of their successful production ofGrabbes Don Juan and Faust in the intimate Studio of the

##Theatre on Dlouh Street dries its decorations

#The flooded balcony of the Theatre on Dlouh Street >Photos archives

/29THEATRES UNDER WATER


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The water in the lower theatre spaces reached a height of 4 metres, and remained there for several days. Much of

the fixed technology in the space was destroyed. Approximately 95% of the lighting and sound equipment,costumes, archival materials, and computer equipment was salvaged. The Archa Theatre will definitely NOT bein operation in less than 6 months, and is cooperating with the Ponec Theatre as a temporary venue.Donations for supporting the Archa Theatre can be sent to Divadla Archa account number576745523/0300, variable symbol - 2002

stage, ground floor under water

The water from the Vltava reached a height of 75 cm in the theatre foyer.

The basement was flooded and air conditioning destroyed, but regular operations of theatre are safe. The theatreresumed its programme on September 11.

Both sublevels of the building were completely flooded. Theatre operations will resume at the beginningof the 2003/2004 season.

Everything was completely covered in water right up to the level of the stage. The start of regular operationsin the large theatre space are anticipated at the end of January. Account Number: 934081/0100

The theatre was flooded; some things were salvaged. The repertoire of the Black Theatre was restoredin September.

Basement flooded; regular operations of the theatre safe.

Damage to the flooded basement, including technical equipment, currently exceed more than 50 million K.Donations for the restoration of the equipment can be sent to: National Theatre Account number:277705550207/0100

The lower space contained 6 metres of water for several days. Everything, including both bars, chillout,backstage and other spaces attached to the club were completely damaged. Even the stage, the seats, the flooring,and the stucco on the walls have been destroyed. Donations can be made to collections for the restoration ofthe Roxy: 20001-14934-111/0100

The dressing room was partly flooded.

The space was partly flooded; technology was affected; the entire archive with its unique collection wasdestroyed. Donations can be made: 12141214/0300

It was possible to remove some of the production materials from the Laterna Magika as well as the portabletechnical equipment from the basement and other spaces of the National Theatre, before the water came in.Laterna Magika began performing again on Monday August 19 - although under temporary conditions.

The space was completely flooded and destroyed.The spaces were flooded with the water reaching a height of approximately 2 metres (auditorium, dressing roomsand basement).

affected

affected

The studio space contained 90cm of water, and the heavy humidity delayed the work of the Studio.

The water reached the top of the stage; technical equipment still functions, and the theatre will continue to perform.

The water from the river Vltava did not reach the theatre, but on August 14 the sewer system could not containthe assault of water from the floods. The theatre was completely flooded up to the height of the balcony (8m) and

articles were hauled from the theatre space. More than 1000 costumes were taken to be cleaned. The interior ofthe theatre looked like the set of a catastrophe film. Damages are estimated at 9 million crowns approximately.The theatre company is hosted by various theatres spaces inside and outside PragueDonations can be sent to: Divadlo v Dlouh, account number 179164418/0300

The water reached a depth of 8.5 metres, 1.7 metres above stage level. The current status of the building has beenclassified as category B (building with structural problems). Estimated damage - 115 mil. K. The Music TheatreKarln will perform this season at the Congress Centre Prague - it is planned that they will perform here for thenext two years while their home is reconstructed.

Semafor was flooded. The water has been drained, but building inspectors have forbidden this in the event thatadditional damage may occur.

It is essential to replace the flooring and the plastering completely.The space was flooded to the height of the stage.

Archa Theatre

Globe Theatre

Milnium Theatre

Divadlo Na zbradl(Theatre on the Balustrades)

Theatre Na Prdle

Divadlo pod Palmovkou(Pod Palmovkou Theatre)

Ta Fantastika

Studio Citadela

National Theatre

Roxy Theatre

National Marionette Theatre

e loutek(Kingdom of Puppets)

Laterna Magika

Klub LvkaDamza

Spirla

Pyramida

vandovo divadlo

Ungelt

Divadlo v Dlouh(Theatre on Dlouh Street)

Music Theatre Karln

Semafor (Karln)

Branick divadloAuditoriumin the Municipal Library

Prague Status

THEATRES UNDER WATER30/


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vanda Theatre; their most monumental production, anadaptation of Dostoyevskys The Possessed, is being shown

on the big stage of the Divadlo na Vinohradech [VinohradyTheatre]; and other performances take place in the DivadloKomedie [Comedy Theatre] and the Divadlo v Celetn[Theatre in Celetn Street]). The company had to re-rehearseand adapt most of its productions for new conditions, andrehearse and prepare new productions. The cleaning anddrying out of their premises has been completed, anda restored theatre is in preparation (stage designer DavidMarek). Theyre working hard, and I think well bereopening in late September, early October says Danielalkov, director of a theatre whose temporary state will havelasted for more than a season. Meanwhile, at least the boxoffice with information is open in the arcade of the building a focal point for the permanent audience.

Moral and financial support which crosses borders, togetherwith audiences who follow their theatre around theatricalPrague all this has helped to get the theatres back on their feet.

But it is not always enough; the company of our mostseriously affected theatre, the Hudebn divadlo Karln (Music

Theatre in Karln), has been less fortunate than the Theatre inDlouh Street, even though it has displayed tenacity andsolidarity. Its home stage (the former Prague Variet, built in1881 and 1896-98, a pseudo-Baroque edifice to designs by thearchitect Bedich Ohmann) is one of our largest theatres, buthas for a long time been in need of reconstruction, due to startnext year. Its capacity and imposing appearance makes it veryattractive from the commercial point of view, and from thebeginning of the 1990s, private companies which stage bigmusicals have shown (euphemistically speaking) considerableinterest in it. In spite of this, it has up to now held on to itspermanent company and repertoire programme, which coversa broad range of music theatre from operettas through musicalcomedy to American-style musicals. Once it became evidentthat expensive reconstruction was unavoidable, the City ofPrague, which owns the building and manages the company,dismissed the director overnight (without even waiting till the

The basement was flooded, and the water since removed from the space. The opening of the season has not been

affected.The Small Hall was completely flooded and ruined, the foyer in the Large Hall was also damaged by the water(part of the floor has caved in). Damage estimated at 2.5 mil. K.

The flooded ground floor contained approximately 60 cm of water. The archive in the basement was completelyunder water, as well as part of the dressing rooms.

Some technical equipment was destroyed; the auditorium was unaffected.

Gushing rain caused the roof to collapse directly above the props storage in the theatre

The space was completely destroyed up to the 10th row in the auditorium; the stage is also ruined.

The audience area practically did not exist. The theatre saved most of the sets; nonetheless, the expenses of therebirth of the inohern Studio will not be minimal. Currently they take some of the productions on tour.Donations can be sent to: INOHERN STUDIO, account number: 784593450207/0100 variable symbol

26547929

All spaces were under water to a height of 2.5 - 3 m, ruining all plaster and flooring, stage, seating area, lightingand electrical equipment. Damage is estimated at 6,5 mil. K. 2002. Donations can be made to accountnumber: 94-3494880207/0100, Komern banka

Out si de of Prague Status

##The Theatre on Dlouh Street

#The foyer of the Jihoesk divadlo(South Bohemian Theatre)>Photo archives

ESK BUDJOVICE

Mal divadlo (Small Theatre)Metropol

Jihoesk divadlo(South Bohemian Theatre)

ESK KRUMLOVMstsk divadlo(Municipal Theatre)

LITVNOVDocela Velk Divadlo(The Quite Large Theatre)

PLZEDivadlo M. Hornka

ST N.L.inohern studio

TEREZNM.E.C.C.A - Central EuropeanColony of Contemporary Art

/31THEATRES UNDER WATER


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end of the season, when his contract was due to expire),allegedly for poor accountancy. One of the arguments againstthe director was that in extremely difficult conditions the

company had rehearsed and successfully opened a newproduction, the musical Chicago, and started to rehearseanother musical comedy. At the same time it was clear thattheir temporary home, the Congress Centre, which alsobelongs to the City of Prague, was so expensive that the rentswallowed up the larger part of the companys grant. In placeof the director, under whose leadership the company had gonefrom strength to strength (let alone becoming popular withtheatregoers), the City without advertising or interviewing installed a theatre entrepreneur linked with exactly the type of

private one-off production of extravagant musicals mentionedabove: there is no wonder that the idiosyncratic theatrepolicies of the municipality (which many times made arbitrarydecisions on matters of public interest without any clearexplanation of its intentions) evoked suspicion that it wastrying to get rid of a financially demanding company and at thesame time shift the financial burden of the reconstruction (andtherefore of future profits) to a private operator. In response tothis criticism, the new director stated publicly that the

company would be able to return to the restored theatre in theautumn of 2005.The Semafor Theatre, which played on the small stage of

the Karln Theatre, was also inundated with floodwater,including its archive. Today it is hosted largely by the MinorTheatre in Prague. Its head, Ji Such, has accepted an offerfrom the Prague 6 municipal authorities which, unlike the Cityof Prague, have done all they can to support theatre (evidenceof this is the short history of one of Pragues most successfultheatres, the Dejvick divadlo [Dejvice Theatre]). A disusedhall in Dejvice will be reconstructed for the use of Semafor.The architect is Miroslav Melena, who was responsible for theinterior of the flooded Karln Theatre small stage.

The most badly affected theatre outside Prague, the DramaStudio in st nad Labem, found a refuge in the Little TheatreSetuza and goes touring. The losses caused by the flooding inthis case had to be linked with the reconstruction of thebuilding. These had reached the stage of deciding betweenarchitectural plans for a reconstruction. The city has released

six million crowns (more than $200,000) and there have beencontributions from private sponsors. st theatregoers hopethat by autumn they will be back in their own theatre.

Thank you !Under the influence of the first photos from the flooded

Czech theatres and on the initiative of the Alfrd RadokFoundation, the Theatre Institute, the Association of

Professional Theatres of the Czech Republic and theAuraPont Agency, the largest public collection for the help ofcompanies in trouble was established. Eventually the sum ofmore than two million crowns (nearly $70,000) was collectedon the account of the Divadla pod vodou (Theatres under

Water). There were financial contributions from individualdonors both at home and abroad, whilst theatres not underwater referred the proceeds from benefit performances andthe income from advent sales of drowned golden sleigh

bells. Above all, thanks to the initiative and contacts of theTheatre and Literary Agency Aura-Pont, substantialcontributions from personalities of world theatre thedramatists Tom Stoppard, Patrick Marber, David Auburn andTony Kushner were channelled into the collections account.

Significant help from abroad also came from, amongothers, the society Amiti franco-tchco-slovaque andcolleagues in Finland and the USA.

The biggest benefit event, dedicated to the help of culture

caught in the central European floods, took place inHamburg. There, on the initiative of the senator for culture(the Hamburg equivalent of the Minister of Culture), who isCzech Frau Daa Horkov a decision was made to assistin the renewal of its twinned cities, Prague and Dresden.A magnificent evening (according to the Germannewspapers) took place on 4 October in Hamburg StateOpera. As well as collecting a considerable amount of money(tickets cost up to 500 Euro), it provided an artisticexperience for the audience: international opera stars Edita

Gruberov and Kurt Moll sang Mozart arias, and animprovised ballet,As You Like It, with choreography by JohnNeumeier was performed with 120 dancers from theHamburg and Dresden state opera houses. The main roleswere taken by the Czech soloists in the Hamburg balletcompany, the brothers Ji and Otto Bubenek.

The concert proceeds and other financial donations fromthose attending will be devoted to the repair of the DresdenMunicipal Museum and the Semper Opera, the Prague

Municipal Library, the Pinkas Synagogue and the floodedPrague theatres. More than three quarters of a millioncrowns (over $25,000) was earmarked for the Theatres underWater account from the proceeds of this concert.

Austrian artists also organised a performance on

The stage of the Drama Studio in st nad Labem >Photo archives

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1 December for Prague theatres, galleries, museums andarchives which were affected by the August floods. A benefitmatine was held in the Vienna theatre Akzent in front of

more than 150 people, who as well as purchasing ticketspriced from 25 to 40 Euro also contributed to a special flooddamage collection.

The model of benefit performances was also chosen by theSlovak initiative Theatres above the Water; companies from theflooded Czech theatres were invited by their Slovak colleaguesto give guest performances and all the proceeds from thesewere put directly on their accounts. Semafor Theatre, theTheatre of South Bohemia and the Drama Studio from st allappeared in front of sympathetic Slovak audiences.

Forei gn assi st an ce w as of t endi rect ed t owa rd s speci f i ctheat res

In September 2002 the company from the Theatre on

Dlouh Street, which was completely destroyed by theAugust floods, visited Ld, where their Polish colleaguesorganised a number of events on their behalf. The theatrereceived the proceeds from the guest performance, a concertof classical music and an art auction, and a financialdonation from the Ld Artists Association.

The Theatre on Dlouh Street also became an actor in

what seems to be the most original initiative in theatrecollections. An internet auction in December, in which theprize was the opportunity to be a character in a book by Terry

Pratchett, brought the Theatre on Dlouh Street 135,531crowns (nearly $5,000). That was what the Pratchett fanLadislav Pelc thought it was worth, to have the hero of thenext episode of Pratchetts cycle The Discworld called afterhim. The world-renowned British author of fantasy literature,who came up with the idea for the auction, devoted theproceeds to the flood-damaged Prague Theatre. Pratchettdecided on further support for the theatre as a result of hisenthusiasm over their production of his play Wyrd Sisters,

staged by the theatre in 2001.The activity of the organisers of the collection Theatresunder Water is not of course limited to the gathering offinancial means the web pages of the Theatre Institute havebecome a kind ofExchange and Martfor help from colleaguesboth here and abroad for the damaged theatres. The accountalso tries to arrange further financial assistance for privatelyrun theatres damaged by the floods which are forbidden bylaw to make collections themselves.

The account Theatres under Water will be open forcontributions to the end of this theatre season (i.e. to30.6.2003). In the meantime the focus will be on exceptionalevents such as the Alfrd Radok Award, the Theatre EuropeanRegions Festival in Hradec Krlov, and in June, the 10thInternational Exhibition of Stage Design and TheatreArchitecture, the Prague Quadrennial.

It is still possible to send donations to the Theatres under Wateraccount: Account no: 179201477/0300, Contact: Aura-Pont, divadeln

a literrn agentura, s. r. o., Radlick 99, 150 00 Prague 5, tel. 5155 4938,5155 3992, fax: 5155 0207,e-mail: [email protected], www.divadlo.cz/zaplavy*) We wouldlike through these pages to thank all past and future donors.

Jitka Sloupov, Coordinator of the Collection

*)Currently, the web pages of Theatre Institute contain thefollowing information:Central Appeal for assistance to Theatres Under Water information

for those wishing to make financial donationslist of affected theatres with details about their damage during the

floods, as well as photo documentation of the catastrophelist of important technical equipment required by the affected theatreslist of photographs that can be published as accompanyingdocumentation to promote benefit activities

Available is also:videocassette a 20 minute documentary examines the theatre spacesaffected by the floods (for those interested in obtaining a full copy,please email: [email protected] )CD-Rom containing all information


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| Marie Reslov |

THE NATIONAL THEATRE (STILL?) AT THE CROSSROADS34/


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The drama company of the National Theatre hastraditionally held an outstanding position among Czechtheatres. But of course it pays in a way for its place in the

sun. The guaranteed state subsidy which it receives,relatively high in comparison with other theatres, ispurchased at the price of the pitiless gaze of the professionaland lay public which follows, evaluates and comments oneverything which happens in this theatre, with far moreattention than in the case of other companies. The time whenthe National Theatre symbolised the pride of a small nationand the individuality of the Czech language may now be longpast, but something of this sacred symbolism has remained

indelibly in the consciousness of the audiences and themembers of the company. According to directors newlyappointed in the nineties to the service of this theatre, thisspecial stigma and the awareness of responsibility linked toit (and also the bureaucratic operation) tie one down, make

Ivan Rajmont, tried to create, with the help of strongpersonalities from the alternative or studio theatre, a newface for the Czech National Theatre. His attempts at a post-

modern revival of the production style here came up againsta whole range of difficulties, faults and misunderstandingright from the start.

Rajmont started out from his own experience as directorand head of a small theatre, the inohern studio (DramaStudio) in st nad Labem, distinctly in opposition to theofficial, stone-built theatrical institutions. It was not easy and in the period following November 1989 it was not onlysome Czech theatre artists/practitioners, but also manyCzech politicians who were in an equivalent situation to

preserve the former independence and at the same time makethe transition from critic of the official structures to theirrepresentative, albeit in free social circumstances. Amongother things it meant making up a certain professional deficit,because in the Czech alternative theatre before November itwas often the case that what we say was more importantthan how we put this over from the stage. Rajmont and hiscolleagues, whom he brought with him as the new chief fromsmall theatres, sometimes even situated in cellars where the

actors were only a few yards from the audience, to the largestages of the two buildings of the National Theatre, hadminimal experience of working in such a space. They wereaccustomed to using their own theatrical language, poetryand dramatic stylisation. To communicating with a specifictype of audience. The drama company of the NationalTheatre at that time did not give the impression ofa spiritually close company, but nevertheless it was a groupof actors bound by years of working together and there werea number of stars and true masters of their art (for instanceRudolf Hrunsk, Josef Kemr and Josef Somr). The newarrivals had great difficulty establishing a common theatricallanguage with the old inhabitants. And in addition to thisthe basic directors of the company Ivan Rajmont, Jan Kaerand Miroslav Krobot (later Ivo Krobot) were quite differentindividualities. None of the circumstances indicated that itwould be possible in the course of one or two seasons to givenational drama some kind of more emphatic profile. Alsothe majority of the productions of the first half of the nineties

were accused of eclecticism and lack of unity in style andoften, unfortunately, of lack of professionalism.

Also connected with the change in the political regime wasa change in the dramaturgical orientation of the theatres.Censorship vanished and with it the need for allegoricalreflections. Suddenly it was possible to present authorshitherto not presented In the first seasons Rajmont tried topresent contemporary dramatists (such as Tabori, Kolts,Mitterer, Havel and Topol). Then, however, there was a rapid

drop in contemporary material on the stages of the NationalTheatre and an increase in the number of classical titles(Shakespeare, Ibsen, Goldoni, but also Miller, Ionesco, Claudelor Pirandello). If there was any experimenting, then it waswith a new interpretation of old or less frequently presented

it difficult to work and also complicate the effort to changethis theatre from the cautious petrified guardian of classicalvalues into a living organism reacting naturally to thepresent day. Into a place where the top professionals meet intheir work. For the time when Czech actors and directorsconsidered an engagement in the Prague National Theatre tobe the indubitable peak of their career is now past. In the

last decade it has even seemed that many of them arejustified in thinking that the possibility of working here isfor them something of a gift horse.

The first head of the drama company of the NationalTheatre after the November Revolution (1990-97), director

Mrtk bros, A Year in the Village/ Nrodn divadlo, Praha 1993 Directedby Miroslav Krobot / Set and costumes Marta Roszkopfov

>Photo Oldich Pernica

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material, with form But these were attempts which for

various reasons were unsatisfactorily naive, inconsistent andawkward and their self-respect was sometimes perceived asbeing on the verge of parody. Pavel Trensk characterised thefirst three seasons of the National Theatre in the nineties inthe magazine Svt a divadlo (World and Theatre) with thewords: We find stylistic diversity in almost every production(), the directors concepts fluctuate between emptyacademism and would-be post-modern outbursts. () whatis lacking most is artistic direction which would breathe newlife into what appears to be a jaded and perhaps also

demoralised theatrical environment.The only truly successful production of the drama

company of the National Theatre in this period was thedramatisation of the novel by the Mrtk brothers, A Year inthe Village, the production of which was prepared by directorMiroslav Krobot. It did not cut new paths, but it utilised thetried and tested procedures on a high professional level andespecially with exceptional enthusiasm for the subjectmatter: several mutually entwined love stories from the

Moravian countryside, a simple stylisation of a rural livingroom and village square in a single space and emotive,dramatically effective psychological portraits In a period ofgeneral uncertainty this production showed the dramaticworld of the Moravian countryside, where order was linkedwith natural cycles and with the Christian faith. A Year in theVillage won the prestigious Alfrd Radok Award for the bestproduction of 1993.

Proof of the fact that the closely watched results of the

work of the drama company of the National Theatre wereseen to be unsatisfactory on a long-term basis was the factthat the new Board of the National Theatre, appointed by theMinister of Culture, considered ending the leadership of IvanRajmont and possibly replacing him. Thus existential

uncertainty was added to the evident fecklessness of the

management and dramaturgy of the company. Chaoticattempts were made to see if the situation could not beresolved by someone from outside. Martin Porubjak, whowas active for many years in the Slovak National Theatre,was engaged as dramaturge of the drama company of theNational Theatre in Prague. Slovak directors Vajdika andPolk were invited to work in Prague as guests. And shortlyafter them there appeared in the National Theatre the firstCzech directors of the youngest generation, Hana Bureov(Caldern de la Barca: The Wonder-Working Magician) and

Michal Doekal (James Joyce: Exiles). It was theirproductions which brought the National Theatre furthernominations for theatre awards. It was as though this

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"William Shakespeare, The Twelfth Night/ Nrodn divadlo, Praha2001 / Directed by Enik Esznyi / Set Jan tpnekCostumes Andrea Krlov >Photo Hana Smejkalov

#Mrtk bros, Marya/ Nrodn divadlo, Praha 1999Directed by J. A. Pitnsk / Set Jan tpnek / Costumes Jana Prekov

>Photo Hana Smejkalov

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theatrical institution were calling out for a strongtransformation by younger people, untrammelled bysentimentality and the fear of failure.

After a long period of fasting there appeared on the stagesof the National Theatre in the middle of the nineties twooriginal Czech plays: Steigerwalds Nobel and Mas StrangeBirds . The ambition of these texts was clear: they both wishedto hold a mirror to the confused and in many ways irritatingpost-November period which seemed to have robbedeveryone of the certainty of previous values and was not yetable, in its boundless pragmatism, to offer them any others.The dramatic possibilities of both texts, however, turned outto be dubious and their productions were unsuccessful.

Theatre critic Zdenk Honek made the following commenton the premiere of Strange Birds: the monumental space of

the National Theatre has a notable ability to magnify theshortcomings of a dramatic text out of all proportion. Hiswords are, unfortunately, not only precise, but also clear-sighted. The National Theatre was to continue this trend ofunfailing opprobrium as far as original plays were concerned also under Rajmonts successor Josef Kovaluk.

Josef Kovaluk, for many years dramaturge of the BrnoHaDivadlo (HaTheatre) and post-November Dean of theDrama Faculty of JAMU (the Janek Academy of PerformingArts) in Brno, began to manage the drama company of theNational Theatre in 1997 after having worked there for a yearas its dramaturge. He took over from Rajmont a companywhose work was described by Zdenk Honek in the

magazine Svt a divadlo in an article entitled The Era ofInsipidity in the National Theatre with the words: This isnot what is popularly referred to as a crisis. A crisis isa situation on the cutting edge which forces a solution and istherefore activating. Drama in the National Theatre isstagnating. It has settled down in its tame, genially sedateenvironment, not having the strength or perhaps even thedesire to change the status quo. To the stormy atmosphere ofthe social situation, full of movement, disorder and excesses,

it reacts with a strange mixture of tepid romanticism withoutinflamed romantic sensibility and strong emotions, anescapist attitude without the pure transcendental, heresentimentally cheery, there as critical as a cottager and atthe same time of equally tepid professional pragmatismwhich wishes to balance the lack of spirit with skill in thecraft, of which it also does not really have a surplus.

Kovaluk began his dramatic practice bewitched by theability of the theatre to express the vital attitudes andemotions of the audience in the seventies, at the time of themost severe communist censorship. The HaDivadlo, wherehe was working, was one of the so-called studio theatres. The

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"Zdenk Jeceln, Family Seat/ Nrodn divadlo, Praha 2002Directed by Ivo Krobot / Set Tom Rusn / Costumes Jana Zboilov>Photo Hana Smejkalov

#Edmond Rostand, Cyrano de Bergerac/ Nrodn divadlo, Praha 2002Directed by Michal Doekal / Set David MarekCostumes Zuzana Krejzkov >Photo Martin pelda


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company withstood the normalisation measures (like othertheatres of this type) with authors productions, the starting-point of which was most frequently collective work ona selected theme, not a finished dramatic text. Thesetheatres, speaking a special metaphorical language, thusgradually became a sort of replacement for a political tribuneand also to some extent the conscience of society.

When he took up his function Josef Kovaluk astonishedwith his ideological concept of the future direction to betaken by the drama company of the National Theatre. Hespoke of the strengthening of the Czech identity, theperceivement of, respect for and the promotion of certain,especially moral, ideals and values, of the return of man to

himself, of his essential determination, of the search to getthe present under ones skin, how to name and shape all the

doubts and hopes which we carry within us Kovalukbasically repeated in flowery language the premises on whichthe work of the small studio theatres was built beforeNovember. It was as if he

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Czech Theatre 19