For lovers of traditional live theatre or modern interpretations of classic titles, a trip to the city of Prague in the Czech Republic offers a varied and interesting short European break. With over forty venues and the big state funded venues all offering shows with English surtitles, it is a surprisingly accessible. Combined with very low-ticket prices (especially for young persons and over 65’s) and an amazingly efficient transport system (free for over 65’s), it offers good value too. Our recent six-day trip included daytime visits to seven different venues and five evening productions at four of the venues.

The oldest was the Estates Theatre where Mozart first conducted his Symphony No. 38 in D Major, which became known as the Prague Symphony in 1787. This beautiful venue with five tiers of boxes around the stalls is very central near the old town square. In daily repertory, we saw a very stripped back modern version of Schnitzler’s La Ronde (ticket price £9) whereby each performer was delivered to the stage by a vintage tram and then remained on stage to view the following scenes, and a slightly bizarre staging of The Magic Flute (ticket price £22) in which Mozart himself wandered around the stage giving a commentary in Czech as the opera proceeded and multiple stage cloths were dropped with imagery reminiscent of motifs from Monty Python. Not for the purist but surreal entertainment which left you wandering about the director’s intention which the fulsome English language programme failed to explain.

The National Theatre is another very fine building on the banks of the river Vltava which opened in 1883 after a fire, with a beautifully elegant auditorium and clever automation to handle the daily set changes of its repertory programme. The 1972 Czech version of Beauty and the Beast (ticket price £12) was very different with Belle, the daughter of a circus ring master, with two “ugly sisters” and the Beast, a curious creation on leg stilts supported by a group of balletic shadows in black . It was a fascinating experience in front of a very well dressed young full house. The venue’s second house is the New Stage opening in 1983 which, a hundred years later, is a modern flexible space.

The State Opera, close to the head of the famous Wenceles Square, the scene of much civil unrest over the years, opened in 1888 and is another very fine building with each seat equipped with a screen for subtitles and programme notes. Here, we saw the more traditional staging of Verdi ‘s 1853 opera La Traviata (ticket price £26) with an enormous chorus for the early scenes in this 2006 production by French Director Arnaud Bernard and a powerful soaring performance from Zuzana Markova as Violetta, the tragic heroine.

The fifth production was the tourist theatre, Broadway and the black light show Wow, a tradition of Czech Theatre (ticket price £20). While colourful and audience participation as large balloons bounced across the auditorium, the techniques and creativity were rather dated and far less effective than you will see in a good UV scene in a pantomime this Christmas.

The Hybernia Theatre is a musical house, formerly a converted monastery, across the road from fabulous Art Nouveau Municipal House with its Smetana Concert Hall, which is definitely worth a visit on a trip to the city. It was preparing for Singing in the Rain (ticket price £40) which opens on 13 October.

Our final visit was to the Spejbi and Hurvinek Theatre, home of the puppet theatre of Hurvínek and Manicka, two famous characters created in 1930 and operated with a complex multi string handle that enables the skilled puppeteer to truly bring each character to life with emotional engagement. Though clearly aimed at the children who have seen them on TV, the wonderful skilful puppetry will appeal to adults as well (ticket price £6).

It is easy to fill five days in Prague, which has a lovely scale and character with beautiful ornate building facades and amazing theatrical venues, beautifully preserved and presented, offering a fascinating insight into Czech culture which anyone with an interest in live performance will enjoy. Definitely worth a trip!

Written by: Nick Wayne

September 2023