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

An impoverished circus director picks up a rose in an enchanted garden belonging to a terrible Beast. The Beast gets angry and threatens to kill the trespasser – unless one of his daughters pays for the father’s sins. When the youngest daughter, the Beauty, decides to sacrifice herself, she cannot imagine the consequences of her actions.

The Beauty and the Beast

National Theatre Prague

Shakespeare’s immortal tragedy about the world’s injustice, the burden of an arduous mission, and human small-mindedness. A ghostly journey in search for the meaning and sense of life, a drama where the past mingles with the future, a story about the erosion of the state, society and values.

Hamlet

Strange tidings come from the mysterious land of Illyria! Duke Orsino, a music lover, is tormented by his unrequited love for the beautiful Countess Olivia. Sadly, Olivia mourns the death of her brother and refuses to accept love from anyone until seven years have passed. Meanwhile, a merry group runs her court: the drunkard Sir Toby, Olivia’s cunning gentlewoman Maria, the irresistibly ridiculous suitor Sir Aguecheek, and the pompous puritan Malvolio, all overseen by Feste (or Clown), the witty royal jester. But one day, beautiful Viola is shipwrecked on the coast by the rough seas and starts a new life disguised as a young man named Cesario ... The plot thickens, taking unexpected twist and turns and spinning a whirlwind of misleading and mistaken identities. Yet one thing becomes clear: love knows no limits, though one can easily fall in hopeless love with the wrong person.

Twelfth Night

The Estates Theatre

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 young god Dionysus arrives in Thebes so as to initiate the city inhabitants into his cult. His passionate female followers, the Bacchae, revel in a strange ritual, during which they indulge in orgies and fall into a madness-like state. Their behaviour infuriates King Pentheus of Thebes, who confronts the stranger. Unfortunately, he has no inkling who his rival is, ignoring the advice of those around him to show humility. The arrival of a new god may not necessarily mean salvation, yet it certainly does herald the accession of a new order. Who is right? Is it Pentheus, who refuses to understand the impending change and instead strives to firmly grasp the world, or is it Dionysus the “rubble rouser”? Perhaps equilibrium can never hold sway without chaos …

The Bacchae

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.

Antigone

Elizabeth Hunter, a woman who used to be the pivotal point of her little universe, lives a solitary life in a suburban house in Sydney. Once a stunning and spirited beauty controlling others with her iron will, she now faces the ills of old age and the ghosts of her own past. The former star and patron, celebrated for her sarcasm, is left with the entourage of nurses, a housekeeper and a lawyer, sitting as a silent queen in a beehive and desperately scheming to control and torment her relatives even at her deathbed.

David Prachař

Events

Upcoming events

Sep 15, 2026 - May 25, 2027

Wernisch · Národní divadlo

Sep 17 - Nov 22, 2026

The Beauty and the Beast · Národní divadlo

Sep 21, 2026 - Feb 5, 2027

Hamlet · Národní divadlo

Sep 26, 2026 - Feb 10, 2027

Twelfth Night · Národní divadlo

Oct 20 - Dec 7, 2026

Privatization · Národní divadlo

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