Thomas S. Eliot wrote his poem – an opus magnum of the 20th century – as a reflection of the horrors of WWI and situated it in a landscape woven from the historical consciousness of humanity and voices of European literature. Through this open barren land, where town meets sea and desert and the state has collapsed, rambles don Quixote, the wandering knight who upholds the values of chivalry and never loses his faith in the power of love. Is he obsolete, foolish? While don Quixote’s acts are incomprehensible by reason, our hearts root for him. The production searches for the fundamental values in a country swept by the war. It is also a tribute to the naive adoration of Dulcinea del Toboso and to the thousands of heroes conceived by human imagination, the great spirits shining as a still point of the turning world.

Don Quixote. The Waste Land

State Opera

The work of Ivan Wernisch, a poet, translator, editor, journalist, pundit, mystifier, solitaire, wanderer and dreamer, viewed through the lens of his friend, director Jan Nebeský. Wernisch’s seemingly simple, yet elusive and refined verse, his secular and spiritual poetry, words masked as earthy mockery and wistful confessions of uncertainty and longing, a candid celebration of words and rhythm, new bursts of meanings, sparks of the birth and death of worlds. Beloved poems, forgotten poems, unknown texts and new works written especially for this production. And above all, a dream and word that will materialize in a magical ritual called “theatre”, as a celebration of one of the most important living Czech poets.

Wernisch

La Fabrika

Hedda, the proud daughter of General Gabler, loves horse riding, playing the piano, and pistol shooting. To everyone’s surprise, the reserved, steely-eyed beauty marries the aspiring historian and soon-to-be professor Jörgen Tesman; returning from a long honeymoon, the couple move into a mansion fully satisfying Hedda’s wishes. Yet the ghosts of the past come forth. Tea Elvsted, a mutual acquaintance, comes to the town, joined by Eilert Løvborg, Tesman’s more handsome and talented rival and Hedda’s old flame. Back then, the demons of alcohol and drugs had destroyed Løvborg’s brilliant intellect, and his dubious reputation made him an unsuitable match for Hedda, both financially and socially. However, Løvborg has overcome his addictions with the loving care of Tea and even has a new book published. As Tesman’s prospects of the professorship seems uncertain and Hedda watches her dream life crumble, darkness, anger, and harshness take over her and she is ready to reckon with the world and those around her.

Hedda Gabler

The Estates Theatre

The councillors of Honice are to elect a bellman, the person responsible for security in the village. The task is formidable, with two strong candidates running for office – the veteran soldier Valentin Bláha and the tailor František Fiala. What is more, the mayor, Filip Dubský, and the first councillor, Jakub Bušek, obstinately sit tight, neither of them willing to compromise. The fraught situation is further aggravated by the municipal council receiving an anonymous letter threatening arson. A plethora of human types is presented on the stage – the “important persons” and their wives, old-timers, young lovers, lowlifes, pig-headed dimwits, tenacious truth-seekers and enthusiastic dupes. All of them live their little lives and great dreams, all of them desire, fight and argue, while the Red Rooster hovers above their roofs … Some 135 years after it was written, Our Uppish and Defiant Fellows is still a fascinating Czech play, a play about ourselves across generations and eras, a play in which the contest for the post of bellman becomes a gigantic struggle for truth and honesty.

Our Uppish and Defiant Fellows

National Theatre Prague

The “voucher privatization” (post-communist distribution of vouchers to the general public to bring private capital into state-owned companies) laid the foundations for the current structure of socioeconomic and political forces in the public sphere, affected hundreds of thousands of lives, and became a cornerstone of the modern myth about regained freedom. Many personal stories about the voucher privatization involve a  fairy-tale motif “What if”: – “What life could I have if I had chosen a different investment strategy?” – “How would I live had my parents become wealthy back then?” – “What if grandpa left the hidden stock of shares?”... The concepts of voucher and general privatization reflect the global and individual histories of the Czech Republic and of each of its citizens. The stories behind voucher privatization brought about dreams and desire for freedom, naivety, and ruthless family disputes over power and property. The turbulent “tale of the new National Revival” hardly left any time for the people to concentrate on themselves, perceive themselves as living beings, sense their growth limits, and consciously embrace their mortality.

Privatization

The war of the “Seven against Thebes”, fought between Oedipus’ sons Polynices and Eteocles, ended with the brothers’ mutual killing. Creon the king orders funeral rites of honour for Eteocles, as the defender of the country, yet forbids the same to be served to the defeated Polynices. Antigone, the sister of the two dead men, is the only one who dares to disobey Creon, serving the rites herself. When discovered, Creon opts for her exemplary punishment... Antigone, daughter of the Theban king Oedipus and his wife (and mother) Iokasta, is one of the greatest characters of Greek mythology and world drama. Sophocles in particular rose her to fame in his eponymous tragedy, written around 442 BC, a chief work of Ancient Greek theatre. For Jan Frič, this is the third ancient play he will direct at the NT Drama, again in a new translation and retelling by Matyáš Havrda and Petr Borkovec.

Pavla Beretová

Events

Upcoming events

Sep 12 - Dec 20, 2026

Don Quixote. The Waste Land · Národní divadlo

Sep 15, 2026 - May 25, 2027

Wernisch · Národní divadlo

Oct 5, 2026 - Apr 15, 2027

Hedda Gabler · Národní divadlo

Oct 10, 2026 - Feb 21, 2027

Our Uppish and Defiant Fellows · Národní divadlo

Oct 20 - Dec 7, 2026

Privatization · Národní divadlo

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