Behind the Curtain June 2026

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Hello to all the theater-heads out there. The days are stretching longer and longer these days. What better time is there to find a theater show than when you can finish before the sun even sets? Theaters across Brno are ending their seasons, so you'd better hurry while you can.

If you have some time while the sun is still shining, please take a few minutes to fill out our audience survey. And if you'd like to tell us in person, or just come and hang out with us, we're celebrating our 8th birthday on 27 June in Lužánky.

The Show Must Go On

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:

The Three Musketeers and the Very Pretty Diamonds
When: 22 June
Where: Divadlo Barka

Waiting in the Wings

A report from the director of Sleeping Disorders:

The warm weather outside has been a great opportunity for us to try out new things in a space that extends far beyond our usual four walls: Lužánky. With space and birds and people all around us, the possibilities for the play seem almost endless, as the evenings are starting to feel as well.

We've managed to start adding movement to our words and I hope I don't have to tell you (a true connoisseur of the theater) what a difference that can make. The discussions of what it all means are continuing, of course, but seeing the possible meanings in action makes them feel alive in ways they weren't before. This makes it easier to decide which option seems the most real.

Summer makes it hard for amateurs to practice – life and vacations get in the way. But we're determined to make this work, and we've made some great progress already. I'm very grateful for the flexibility the actors have already shown, and I know we have more bending plans to come. Definitely looking forward to how it all shakes out.

Intermission

A photo of the National Theater building from the river.

Most national theaters have been built by rulers and governments. The Czech National Theater in Prague was paid for by the public by taking up a collection. After the building was destroyed in a fire, a second collection was taken up and managed to raise a million florin within only 47 days.

Photo by Lynx1211, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

In the Spotlight

This month, we’re shining the spotlight on Scott H. F. Adams from Scotland.

🎭 When did you first get involved in Czech Theater?

My first foray into the Czech Theater Cinematic Universe (CTCU(c)) was for Čapek’s The White Disease. I was originally cast as Minister of Propaganda. Then, due to one of the cast having to drop out, I took on the role of Marshal, a dictator.

The Marshal gives a speech while his daughter and Pavlina Krüg wait.

🎭 Do you have a favorite line from a play that Czech Theater has performed?

It's always tough to pick just one line, but I always enjoy this one from Havel’s The Garden Party:

"At a certain stage it’s really quite important that people frankly say to one another that they’re sort of people."

It’s the sort of that makes it sort of perfect nonsense, in a human sort of way.

An actor gives a big laugh with his hands on his hips.

🎭 Do you have any pre-performance routines or superstitions?

Not really. If I’m playing a more emotionally challenging role I tend to prefer to be alone to get into the headspace of the character. A shot of hruškovice doesn’t hurt either.

🎭 Can you share with us any funny or unexpected onstage/backstage mishaps or memories?

We did a scene from The Garden Party as a sort of preview thing at Jiří Mahen Library. I said a few of my lines and then completely blanked, skipped to some other random part, then turned around to my two lovely castmates Nela and Alex, smiled and walked off. Of course, the two of them completely saved it and carried on like the pros that they are. That’s what it’s all about!

🎭 What do you like most about being part of Czech Theater?

That a whole bunch of people work together to create a piece of art, something bigger than themselves.

Actors on stage waving chairs at each other while others try to break up the stage fight.

A Tough Act to Follow

All three actors with the puppets. All of Helenka's family.

The play Hrdý Budžes has been selling out Czech theaters for two decades. Czech Theater offered the first time for English-speaking audiences to have the chance to see this modern classic: B. Proudew. It offers a look at the period of Normalization through a unique perspective: that of a young girl going through changes big and small, determined to make it through and have some sweets along the way.

Czechoslovak society went through large changes in the 1970s, after the crackdown following the Prague Spring. These changes made their way into the lives of many people, both big and small. This play shows how these changes could affect ordinary life, including relationships at school, what's for dinner, and who gets the starring role in The Taming of the Shrew.

Helenka's perspective on it all brings many laughs, both ones she shares in and ones she doesn't fully understand. The play, written by Irena Dousková, translated by Melvyn Clarke, and adapted for the stage by Czech Theater, can help viewers understand influences on Czech culture that still leave their mark today.