The Czech Theatre at the Turn of the Millennium

The ten years since the change of the social system meant for our theatres the transition from a fully State- controlled (but also fully financed) theatre network to a free - and unfortunately only partially and apartly succesful - structure. Theatre people are still learning how to cope with this new situation and how to work within it. There are attempts to make the system of subsidies more flexible and to transform theatres into self-reliant and independent economic units. For the vast majority of Czech theatre ensembles, the actual running of the theatre, including its management and funding, are a decisive factor, which limits their possibilities. They tend to influence almost everything - the possibilities of their repertoire, scenography, the choice and number of actors, time allowed for rehearsals and investments of technical equipment. However, even today, as in the times under the totalitarian regime, the genuine theatre talent is apparent.

Wavering drama

This situation came to its head two years ago, when the Board of the National Theatre began looking for a new head of the drama company of the National Theatre in Prague. Suddenly there wasn't anybody, whom the professionals (at least in private) would have willingly accepted in this rather prestigious position. The only person, whom probably everybody would have accepted, despite the somewhat controversial reception of his productions, and who with his repertoire and production standards endowed the small Theatre On the Balustrade (Divadlo Na zábradli) with the importance of the leading Czech theatre, i.e. Petr Lébl (1965) produce towards the end of 1999 the tragic end of his own life. Only after his death people realized that his specific stage design and courageous production approach (for the last time in Chekhov's Uncle Vanya ) created the idiom and style of the Czech theatre.

At the turn of the millenium the Czech theatre boasted, besides Lébl, several gifted theatre directors, who all succeeded, each in his own way, to disturb the stagnant waters of Czech theatre production. Jan Antonín Pitínský (1956), playwright and director, had his roots, as did Lébl, in the theatricals of the late eighties. Although he directed several plays at the National Theatre (Durych's Wandering, Mrštíks' Marysa, Vančura's Marketa Lazarova), it soon transpired that his lyrical- poetic staging of novels and the hardily cadenced and somewhat abstractly stylized gestures of the actors - actually the very basis of his fame - became in the environment, into which they had been simply implanted little more than simple mannerisms. Jan Nebeský (1953), director of esoteric spiritual depths, completed two years ago his series of productions of Strindberg and Ibsen with a remarkable production of The Master Builder. He convinced the actors of the need to establish a permanent dialogue between the actor and his personage, between reality and stage fiction. His "Beckett" tryptich - Fin de partie /End-game/, Therese, Mal d'or - and the production JE SUiS with motifs from the novels of Bernanos are a concise stage discussion about life's essentials, love, faith. Nebeský explores the extreme possibilities of the theatre and, in consequence, finds himself "on the fringe" of the whole range of theatrical activities. Vladimír Morávek (1965) is, above all, a stage director of clear theatrical visions based on classical motifs - his "naive", strikingly theatrical interpretations of Shakespeare (Hamlet, Richard III) or Chekhov (The Three Sisters, The Seagull) are simplified, frankly tragico-grotesque, provocatively open and unmistakable. At the regional Klicpera Theatre in Hradec Králové he put together one of the most versatile ensembles in Bohemia. Michal Dočekal (1965), some time ago together with Lébl the youngest head of a theatre in Bohemia (Comedy Theatre) is a producer familiar with contemporary trends in the theatre - he is inventive, with a clear tendency towards attractive, originally conceived form rather than intellectual depths (Shakespeare: Midsummer Night's Dream, Taming of the Shrew; Marlowe: Faust). He has been appointed (starting in September 2002) the new head of the drama ensemble of the National Theatre. Jiří Pokorný (1967), playwright and producer, who courageously and generously promotes contemporary world drama and incites his actors to go for unmistakable stylization and raw authenticity. He is responsible for the artistic side of the Brno HaTheatre (HaDivadlo).

These producers represent to a large extent the main trends in the contemporary Czech drama theatre. Most probably up to 90% of the repertoire of Czech theatres are box- office plays and productions / their professional qualities most diverse.

In some ensembles we see a clear tendency towards the renaissance of the art of the actor, to outweigh too obvious concepts of the producers (Činoherní klub / Drama Club, Spolek Kašpar/Association Punch, Dejvice Theatre, Divadlo u stolu/Theatre at the table). More and more often there are attempts to find adequate stage forms for contemporary drama - whether international: Bernhard, Schwab, Koltes, Ravenhill, Kane, Marber, McDonagh, or local: Balák, Jecelín, Pokorný, Bláhová, Tobiáš. The theatres that systematically look for and stage original Czech plays are Činoherní studio/Drama Studio Ústí nad Labem, HaTheatre, Divadlo Husa na provázku/Theatre Goose on a String. The most highly praised new Czech play was lately the first play by Petr Zelenka, scriptwriter and film director, Stories of ordinary madness, produced at the Dejvice divadlo. We should note with sympathy the endeavours of some theatres, e.g. Dejvice Theatre, Klicpera Theatre in Hradec Králové, Divadlo v Dlouhé/Theatre in Dlouha Street, Comedy Theatre, to counteract the market and consumption orientated environment with unwavering devotion to the elementary human and professional ethics of systematic work in the theatre. These are long/term endeavours, seldom noticed by the media - but they bear fruit: productions whose strength is due not only to the power of theatre art, but also to human solidarity.

The existence of the drama theatre in the Czech Republic is somewhat precarious. Unfortunately, in many instances it lacks self- confidencence. No new star emerged in the last three seasons. So far, the Czech drama theatre did not get into any of the major European theatre festivals. But there is a great deal of vitality, the backing of regular theatre- goers. It does not lack inventivness and specific qualities and is fully capable of compeing with other European cultures.

Renaissance of the opera

The situation of the opera is somewhat more optimistic - actually, we may speak of a quite unexpected renaissance , as confirmed by recent seasons. With the exception of Jan Nebeský all the earlier mentioned producers tried their hand at opera productions thus strikingly upsetting the somewhat traditional opera productions. David Radok, producer at the Göteborg Opera, entered with brio not Czech opera but also drama productions. For two years running he was awarded the prestigious Alfred Radok Award for his opera productions at the Prague National Theatre (Shostakovich: Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, Berg: Wozzeck). This prize, named after his father, a famous Czech theatre producer and film director, is awarded every year by theatre critics for the best theatre production, regardless of the genre. Because of the high quality of opera productions, theatre critics now systematically write also about the opera.

The two Prague operatic houses - the opera of the National Theatre and the State Opera Prague - are shaping their specific image. The National Theatre, wishing to give a modern form to opera productions, made it its policy to invite successful drama producers - J.A. Pitínský produced Wagner's Tristan and Isolde and Smetana's Dalibor, Vladimír Morávek Puccini's Tosca and Verdi's Macbeth. The National Theatre at long last succeeded in finding outstanding opera producers for the staging of Czech classics - David Pountney produced Smetana's The Devil's Wall and Robert Wilson Janáček's Fate. There were also several coproductions with European ensembles - with the Opera North from Leeds (UK) B. Martinů's Julietta and Berg's Wozzeck with the opera from Göteborg.

The State Opera Prague wants to keep alive the traditions of the former Neues Deutsches Theater, whose building it has taken over (Weiss´s The Polish Jew); a significant component of its repertoire are productions of 20th-century operas - Benjamin Britten's The Turn of the Screw, P.Glass's The Fall of the House of Usher, Bohuslav Martinů's The Soldier and the Dancer - and, above all, premieres of contemporary operas: E.Viklický's Phaedra, entered for the competition Opera for Prague, the world premiere of The Physicists by the Swiss composer A.Pflüger. The idea of the French cycle of the State Opera was similar : Meyerbeer's Robert the Devil, Ariane and Bluebear by P.Dukas and the world premiere of the opera Joseph Merrick, called the Elephant Man by L.Petitgirard.

Petr Kofroň, composer, conductor and head of the opera ensemble at the J.K.Tyl Theatre in Plzeň put together after several years in regional conditions an interesting opera ensemble - he came with a fascinating repertoire of Czech opera - Fibich's Šárka, Foerster's Simpleton, Ostrčil's Kunala's Eyes - and the idea of modern stage by young producers - Jiří Pokorný, Michal Dočekal, Jiří Heřman, whosem production of Saint- Saens's Samson et Dalila promises well for the future of this producer. The Moravian-Silesian National Theatre Ostrava continued with its traditions of high standards in both repertoire and production - Giovanna d'Arco for the centenary of Verdi's death, Janáček's very first opera Beginnings of a love story, A.P.Borodin's Prince Igor. Several productions of the ensembles in Liberec (Giordano's Andréa Chénier) and Brno (Janáček 's The Case Makropulos) also attracted a good deal of attention.

The work of all Czech professional opera ensembles and of musical academies were presented at the festivals Opera 99 and Opera 01, organized by the Unity of the music theatre in Prague. The first festival focus on Czech opera and presented the work e.g. of I.Hurník, M.Kaňák and Z. Lukáš. The festival Smetana's Litomyšl was also entirely devoted to opera and in addition to major productions also had performances at the historic castle theatre (historical interpretation of Euridice by J.Peri) and has its permanent place at Janáček's Hukvaldy and at the summer opera festivals in Kutná Hora and Loket. Two remarkble operas by young composers were produced in November 2001 at the AMU/Academy of Performing Arts/ Faculty of Music (M.Nejtek: The fool and the nun, M.Ivanovič: The Girl and death, produced by J.Heřman).

Dance - trends, rudiments, deviations

Contemporary dance in Bohemia is also a rapidly developing theatre form. To define dance strictly geographically could be misleading - the true home of our dance is Central and possibly also Central and Eastern Europe. In this sense Czech dance is still searching for its identity.

The last three years brought the revival and flourishing of contemporary dance styles. This was made possible by a number of organizations and, last but not least, by the somedwhat forgotton traditions of pre-war expressive dance. The International festival Dance Prague has now for a whole decade been supplying the art of dance with new ideas. Recently more intimate alternatives to this festival have cropped up : The festival of new dance, Confrontation and Four Days in Movement, the focus being site/specific and cross- over. This boom would be unthinkable without the existence of the theatre Archa, which systematically promotes the art of dancing and puts its stage at the disposal of dance performances. Another new development is the recently opened Dance theatre Ponec, as also the theatre Alfred in the courtyard, which focuses on the non-verbal theatre. In these and several other alternative theatres the dance is being transformed into an interdisciplinary genre combining movement, music, images and the human body as an existential issue. This new genre is a typical trait of European dance today.

The last influential element is the alternative dance conservatory Duncan Centre, a whole range of young choreographers, graduates of the school, supply the dance scene in Bohemia with new energy. They carry on the traditions of the expressive dance, with the traditions naturally adjusted to our present. Young Czech dancers are more at ease in this contemporary expression and in contemporary dance techniques than in the academic traditions, which never corresponded to the mentality and physical type of the Czechs. It always somewhat clashed with the traditions of the pantomime and with theatricaland grotesque elements.

This may be the reason why our dance theatre tends to come so near to baffoonery - actually, one of its distinctive features. Eva Tálská in a non/verbal performance at the Theatre Husa na provázku/Theatre Goose on the String The Circus or Death and Horse with me evokes the emotional myth of the circus - sentimental, naive, dream-like and grotesque, truly Fellini-like. The Czech-Italian group Déja Donné of the choreographic pair Simone Sandroni and Lenka Flory has created in the spirit of baffoonery their Aria Spinta (in great demand abroad), before probing in greater depth the human soul in the highly theatrical In Bella Copia. The recently created group Krepsko (A Pachyderm trap, A stone in yoghurt) could, hopefully, become an original continuation of the traditions of absurd pantomime in Bohemia. A dance baffoonery of its kind was also Mirka Eliášová's Do you feel fine? This is also their street of quite a few young choreographers from the Duncan Centre .

Kristýna Lhotáková found herself in an international context with her Venus with Rubik´s cube.This dancer and choreographer, who recently attracted attention, when she participated in a joint project with the Austrian-Swiss dancer and choreographer Anna Huber "two,too". Lhotáková works along the lines of dance minimalism, a great seduction for many young choreographers - it has certain features of laboratory work (in each generation again and again investigate the body and its possibilities) and, moreover, it offers an atmosphere of ironic outrage. The well-established choreographer Petr Tyc (The little I know about Sylphids) has recently switched to minimalism and subtle dance allusions.

A well-travelled ensemble is the Theatre Novo G.O. Fronta, founded by the Czech- Russian performing couple (Irina Andreieva and Aleš Janák). They are at their best in street performances (The Vagabond Adam Kadmon). They combine their market-place touting with physical endurance and the hazards of former buto-style performers, spectacular effects with De profundis clamavi.

The work of Jan Kodet - Jade; Gates - and of Lenka Ottová - Love, as they say;Bent backward (Human Deviations) has excellent dancers, a sudden dynamic explosion and a desire to go forward, towards a fully- fledged dance theatre.

A very curious trend in Bohemia is a new mannerism of sorts, accompanied by a slight tendency towards mysticism. This is not surprising with Jan Komárek, a theatre producer belonging to the middle generation, who returned from mannerist and mysticiying tendencies overseas with a nostalgic longing for magic Prague (Shadows of dreams, Martyrdom). We would hardly expect fairly introvert (although with a tinge of irony) mannerist and mysticizing tendencies with the youngest generation of choreographers.

Jana Hudečková and Markéta Trpišovská have created in their Ma Dame Blanche a sophisticted, decadent dance idiom in pseudo-medieval scenes, Petra Hauerová's Carmina burana in a way identify medieval and modern political plague, while in her Charon´s brides Kristýna Celbová covers herself with ashes as a tue mourner. Kristýna Boková eats away her heart enclosed by several mirrors in her Tetel. Extremes are the "anonymous" group Envoi, saturated in esoteric sciences and the solitary performer with an astonishingly beautiful body Antonie Svobodová, who performs in churches, cellars and railway stations.

The greatest contemporary dance discovery in Bohemia is the Romanian dancer and choreographer Ioana Mona Popovici, who shone at this year's Czech dance platform with her Buy a soup and get one free; Breath, shadow, nothing...; Requiem for a dog. This personality, certainly out of the ordinary, embodies the spirit of "another" dancing Europe. The fairly new review Taneční zóna/dance zone, which belongs to the above- described renaissance of the dance in Bohemia, is trying to define it.

Indisputable puppets

The Czech public is being courted by official puppet theatres (they have their own buildings and, far more important, subsidies from the municipality), independent professional groups and numerous, especially of late highly inventive and increasingly aggressive amateur ensembles (Střípek in Plzen, Čmukaři in Turnov, Céčko in Svitavy).

The Czech professional puppet theatre defended best its possitions in scenography. The artists did not abandon experimenting, they put in a matter- of-fact way live actors into bold arrangements of the stage and its space. The technique of the shadow theatre had it comeback (lately in the successful Sávitrí of the independent group Divadlo/Theatre Líšeň). Work with light, projections and a multifunctional mobile stage steadily improved (the hardiest performances were signed Petr Matásek - e.g. his scenography for the staging of Kytice/Bunch of flowers at the Naivni divadlo/Naive theatre Liberec or the solution, based on the same principle, of the scenography for The three golden hairs of the wise old man by Marek Zákostelecký at the theatre Drak/Dragon. There was a search for new, non-traditional spaces - various street productions or the utilization of "non-theatrical" objects, such as The Shed-La Baraque of the Voliere Dromesco company and of the brothers Forman, who found yet another sanctuary for their project The Purple Sails at the Mystery Boat - a cargo vessel. Several puppet productions take place in circus tents, e.g. the circus musical Pinochio with the participation of the theatre Drak, as well as the production of the independent group Studio dell´arte, of the Theatre Continuo Circus Vitae. The Malé divadlo/Small Theatre in České Budějovice performs in manor and castle gardens. The puppet theatre has abandoned darkened halls to meet its audiences in the most bizarre spaces, attacking them with stage tricks and subterfuges, often inspired by the charm of old theatre productions.

In the repertoire we find besides well-known authors (František Pavlíček, Milan Pavlík, Iva Peřinová - her plays are by far most frequently produced by Czech and foreign puppet theatres), we find some new names (Blanka Luňáková, Vlasta Špicnerová, the young and gifted Klára Peřinová, René Levínský). Although not neglecting child audiences, the puppet theatres are systematically including in their repertoire performances for adults - this is most obvious in the predominantly musical repertoire of the Brno theatre Radost/Joy. The most remarkabled performance is the somewhat provocative play by Iva Peřinová Geez Whiz, Dogheads! with allusions to the Czech national character at the Divadlo Alfa/Alpha Theatre in Plzeň. The well-known Divadlo Spejbla a Hurvínka/Theatre of Spejbl and Hurvinek has regular performances for adults - Hurvínek´s excursion to the 21st century.

Stimulating puppet productions have for several seasons running maded it to the so-called "big" theatre festivals, e.g. the international festival Divadlo/Theatre in Plzeň or the Theatre of European Regions in Hradec Králové. On the other hand, "traditional" Czech puppet festivals e.g Materinka in iberec or Skupa's Plzen, as well as such new festivals as Spectaculum interesse (since 1995) in Ostrava or the World Festival of the Art of Puppets (for the first time in1996) in Prague now welcome local and foreign independent groups and ensembles that make use of the resources of the puppet theatre for their productions. A good example is the successful production How I got lost (producer Jan Borna, Divadla v Dlouhé/Theatre in Dlouha Street), which in Ludvik Askenazy's story combines the possibilities of the drama and puppet theatre with "hits" from the "golden sixties".

When working on sophisticated projects for adolescent and adult audiences professional puppet theatres often resort to international cooperation. One such example is the Czech-Japanese coproduction of variations on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet under the title A Plague o´Both your Houses! at the theatre Drak in Hradec Králové with Josef Krofta as producer.

Even after their ten-year existence and their uneasy conditions notwithstanding the ambicious independent groups Buchty a loutky/Cakes and puppets and Divadlo /Theatre Continuo courageously defend their position. Their reportoire is priarily intended for adult audiences. Buchty a loutky, as confirmed by their latest production Gilgamesh I and II seem to prefer more intimate performances, while Continuo frankly prefers street performances in the widest sense of the word. Inspiration and challenge for professional pupet theatres are several other productions of independent groups: the earlier mentioned Theatre of the brothers Forman, Divadlo Kvelb/Theatre Closet founded three years ago in České Budějovice that also focus on street productions and the appealing one-man show of the South-Bohemian puppeteer Vítězslav Marčík. A unique phenomenon is the art theatre of the sculptor and painter Petr Nikl, who brings to the Czech puppet theatre something totally inexpected - Dadaist-Surrealist productions. They may be found not only in his own performances Nests of Dreams at the Gallery Rudolfinum in Prague, and in joint projects with Jana Svobodová and the musicians Havel, husband and wife, for the Prague stagione Divadla Archa/Theatre Ark - In the looking-glass, Behind the looking-glass, Worn-our dreams.

Since 1991 the professional Czech puppet theatre is every year confronted with the most striking productions of amateur ensembles at the festival One flew over the puppets' nest. Since 1997 the prize ERIK is awarded every year to the best production of the year. Lately the award went to amateur enssembles - in the year 2001 to the young ensemble DNO/Bottom from Hradec Králové for their Variations on the famous Cyrano motifs.

Marie Reslová with contribution of Radmila Hrdinová (opera), Nina Vangeli (dance) and Nina Malíková (puppets).