CZECH THEATRE SHOWCASE 2010
showcase of contemporary Czech theatre for international audiences

Pilsen 15th  – 19th September 2010, 

Prague  19th – 21st September 2010

 drama – new circuss – puppets – dance – experiment – meetings – discussions – special event

Václav Havel´s and Milan Kundera´s older plays in new stagings by prestigious Czech directors

brand new short plays by Joe Penhall and David Gieselmann in world openings

special theatre event at the Airport Prague and excursion to the charming city of Hradec Králové

coproduction of Czech theatre artists with the music band Tiger Lillies

The objective of the Czech Theatre Showcase is to introduce Czech theatre to foreign professionals such as directors and dramaturgists of theatre festivals and critics. Similar national showcases of drama theatre take place in almost all European countries.

The second Czech Theatre Showcase is connected to the successful and very efficient showcase of contemporary Czech theatre called Czech Theatre Showcase that took place in 2008 and it was appreciated abroad as well. The showcase is a biennial and its primary mission is to introduce the best of Czech theatre to foreign professionals and guests and present contemporary trends of Czech culture and art. The long-term findings of the Arts and Theatre Institute show that a similar form of a showcase that takes place in the Czech Republic is one of the best and most effective possibilities to promote Czech theatre abroad. The primary objective of Czech Theatre Showcase 2010 is to introduce not only the best of Czech theatre for the past two years but also present content and genre varieties of Czech theatre.

In 2010, the Arts and Theatre Institute organizes the Czech Theatre Showcase again in cooperation with the International Theatre Festival DIVADLO in Pilsen (www.festivaltheatre.cz). The showcase consists of two parts. The first one will be created by the Czech program of the Divadlo festival in Pilsen from 15th to 19th September 2010. The second part will take place from 20th to 21st September 2010 in Prague. All Czech stagings of both parts will be interpreted into English. The ATI organizes dramaturgy and production of the Prague part of the showcase as well as the professional part – discussions, seminars and materials about Czech theatre in English. The showcase is organized with significant support of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.

A special catalogue called Czech Performance Collection with basic information about the best Czech performances with all the technical details and contacts of the artists will be issued during the festival. Czech Performance Collection will subsequently function in connection with the new style of www.theatre.cz as the main tool for presentation of Czech theatre abroad. The selection of performances and enlistment of Czech theatre performances in the catalogue Czech Performance Collection is realized by the Dramaturgic Board of the ATI.

Realization team of the Czech Theatre Showcase 2010  

Dramaturgy and project management: Martina Černá, Pavel Štorek (in cooperation with the Dramaturgic Board of the ATI)
Author of the conception: Kamila Černá
Production: Kateřina Veselá
PR: Barbora Kalošová

Looking Back to Czech Theatre Showcase 2010

Guests from Denmark, Finland, France, Croatia, Iran, Italy, Lithuania, Hungary, Germany, Poland, Austria, Slovenia and the USA visited the Czech Theatre Showcase for foreign guests in 2010; they had the possibility to see 19 Czech stagings during 7 days. They were festival programmers, representatives of theatre houses, theatre critics or translators from Czech language. Many field trips like the Puppet Museum in Pilsen, Prague and Pilsen areas, Labyrinth of the Drak Theatre in Hradec Králové were prepared for foreign guests during their stay in the Czech Republic. They also had the possibility to meet Czech theatermakers during discussions after performances that proved to be necessary for explanation of the context of its origin. The guests could acknowledge other current theatre productions through materials in the catalogue called Czech Performance Collection that consists of materials for 49 stagings from Czech and Moravian theatres including videos and photographs. Guests chose ‘“Weissenstein“ (Comedy Theatre, directed by David Jařab) and „Europeans“ (Boca Loca Lab, directed by Jiří Adámek) as the most positively received stagings during feedback of the program. Other successful stagings were „Pig“ (Goose on the String Theatre, directed by Vladimír Morávek), „Package“ (420PEOPLE, directed by Shusaku Takeuchi) and „Theatre“ (Farm in the Cave, directed by Viliam Dočolomanský).