Behind the Curtain December 2025
Welcome to the second issue of Behind the Curtain! We hope you're enjoying the holiday season and finding pockets of warmth amid the cold. We're using the good vibes from audiences at Kytice to keep our hearts warm, even if some of the stories themselves are rather chilling. Still, it's the community coming together throughout the year that makes it all worth it.
The Show Must Go On
Kytice
Our 7th season (Death) has opened with a true Czech classic: Karel Jaromír Erben’s Kytice: A Bouquet of Czech Folktales, a collection of ballads inspired by oral tradition and Czech legends. We still have performances on 6, 7, & 13 December.
If you’re looking for a cultural night out, Brno’s welcoming English-friendly theater scene has something to offer.
This upcoming show will be in English:
Pride & Prejudice
When: 7 & 14 December
Where: 7 Dec: Divadlo Barka, 14 Dec: Lumos (By GWP)
This upcoming show will have English surtitles:
Patriots
When: 19 December
Where: National Theatre Brno
Waiting in the Wings
A report from the directors of Kytice:
It's a wrap on opening weekend of Kytice! Backstage spirits were high and we were having a blast, even with the nerves and anticipation of the big night. Tasha, our make-up artist extraordinaire, set up her chair and the actors all took their turn in it, while others transformed into their characters by putting on their costumes. Ines, our costume designer, was always busy making sure everyone looked the part. Our irreplaceable backstage crew was always one step ahead, making sure we were ready for the next scene. And, of course, actors could always count on their castmates to have a big (silent) cheer ready for them when they left the stage. The first show came and went in the blink of an eye and we can't wait to continue sharing Kytice with our lovely audience.
A report from the director of Boiled Heads (our next production):
One of the joys of acting is getting to know your character. Who are you? What are your motivations? The shift from words on paper to a living, acting being. One of the joys as a director is to see this transition happening with all of the cast. But this takes time. For Boiled Heads or "Girl, death dances on your tits", I wanted my actors to have the time to dig a little deeper into their roles. So here we are, a month into “preproduction”, meeting up weekly to go through the script and discuss and discover the ins-and-outs of the play. It is incredibly exciting.
I take inspiration from all sorts. I was thoroughly impressed with Divadlo 3+kk’s Franz Kafka Žije! staged in the former prison Káznice – the audience are sitting around a huge dining table at a family dinner, and the line between audience and actor was completely blurred. More recently, I have seen Divadlo Husa na Provázku’s Someday the Kids Will Thank Us, and was inspired by the use of space, lighting, fog, and silence to create this dream-like atmosphere. I am reminded that the space in between dialogue is as important as the words themselves. In the world of film, I adore David Lynch’s Lost Highway and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, alongside Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days. And so for Boiled Heads, I would like to incorporate bits and pieces from all of these works. I am planning to utilize all of the space available to us at Vesna and try out some multimedia experimentation. But I won’t spoil too much here.
Being in the driving seat – so to speak – allows me to have more flexibility with the creative direction of the production. I love being able to include my other hobbies of music production, filming/editing, and film photography; to have the space to try things out, to play and to experiment with different forms (and hopefully learn a thing or two along the way). Czech Theater being a non-for-profit spolek gives us a certain level of freedom to take risks. That we all voluntarily put so much work and love into a project is just a beautiful thing.
Three months to go until we perform. In the meantime, keep an eye out for a little Christmas teaser…
Intermission
When Václav Havel first started to write plays, he was offered a job as a lighting technician at Divadlo Na zábradlí. It was, in the words of theater historian Barbara Day, "still the time when everyone did everything." A commemorative plaque outside the theater attests to his many roles: actor, stagehand, playwright, president...
In the Spotlight
This month, we’re shining the spotlight on Janaki from Norway.
🎭 When did you first get involved in Czech Theater?
I am pleased to say that I was a part of Czech Theater at the very beginning, with the first play R.U.R. It was a very exciting time!
🎭 Do you have a favorite line from a play that Czech Theater has performed?
I am sure I have had many, but right now nothing comes to my mind. Most of the plays I did were quite a long time ago. What I do remember right now is, of course, “Yesterday, was an important day”, and “A heart is the worst thing you can have. If you have a heart, you will most certainly die.”
🎭 Can you share with us any funny or unexpected onstage/backstage mishaps or memories?
Well, there was that time in R.U.R. when I simply forgot to go on stage. I was supposed to come last after two others and they were supposed to talk to me, not seeing me, and then turn around to me, but at that one time I just wasn’t there.
There was also the time when in B. Proudew when all the lights in the whole theater went dark for a really long time. That was more uncomfortable than funny, at least at the time.
🎭 Do you have any pre-performance routines or superstitions?
I like to do some bending and stretching to get my energy flowing. And some voice work to open my voice and make sure it has volume, so I don't have to scream from stage. Then, as I usually get quite nervous before performing, I tend to go very quiet and inside myself and my character; I don't want to talk to anyone or get disturbed, hehe.
🎭 What do you like most about being part of Czech Theater?
Theater has always been an avenue for me to explore myself and expand my self expression. With theater people, I find that we can often show up for each other in playful and open ways that are less present in social norms, and that makes me very happy. Czech Theater has, and has always had, good people in it, which is nice. I also love the creative process we can have together.
A Tough Act to Follow
Czech Theater’s second production was Jenůfa (Her Stepdaughter), which premiered on 18 May 2019. Written by Gabriela Preissová and translated by Barbara Day, Jenůfa was the basis for Janáček’s famous opera and explores themes of love, death, and forgiveness.