Behind the Curtain November 2025
Welcome to the first edition of Czech Theater’s monthly newsletter! We’re so excited to be starting and thrilled you’re along for the ride.
We’ll start with a roundup of opportunities to see English-friendly theater in Brno, then give you a little look backstage at one of our upcoming productions, take a break with an interesting fact about Czech theater, get to know someone at Czech Theater a little better, and finish with a look back at one of our previous productions.
If you found this useful or have suggestions to make it better, let us know! Respond to this email or hit us up on Facebook or Instagram.
The Show Must Go On
Kytice
The first show in our 7th season (Death) opens with a true Czech classic: Karel Jaromír Erben’s Kytice: A Bouquet of Czech Folktales.
Kytice is a collection of 13 ballads inspired by oral tradition and Czech legends. Apart from the supernatural and whimsy, it addresses interpersonal relationships, guilt, punishment, and death, oftentimes putting women in the forefront. Czech Theater will present 7 of the 13 original poems in Erben’s collection on 29 & 30 November and 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: 1 & 7 December
Where: Divadlo Barka (By GWP)
These upcoming shows will have English surtitles:
The Marx Family Saga (Sága rodu Marxů)
When: 17 November
Where: Husa na provázku
Someday the Kids Will Thank Us! (Jednou nám za to děcka poděkujou!)
When: 23 November
Where: Husa na provázku
The Expulsion of Gerta Schnirch (Vyhnání Gerty Schnirch)
When: 1 December
Where: HaDivadlo
Smokeout (Vykouření)
When: 2 December
Where: Husa na Provazu
Waiting in the Wings
A report from the directors:
Rehearsals for Kytice have moved from awkwardly standing on stage with scripts in our hands to comfortably occupying the space and moving through the set, exchanging scripts for props, and dancing to original music in eerie lighting. In our first newsletter, let us introduce you to the people you won't see on stage, but who play a big part in making the whimsy and magic come to life. Our set and costume designer Ines Jahůdková has been hard at work turning our actors into characters by designing and crafting their beautiful costumes. Together with her husband Tomáš, she's also designed and built a movable set. Natasha Price makes final touches on each character's look with her wonderful makeup skills. And last, but certainly not least, when thinking about music, lights, and anything technical, we think of the excellent creative duo of Klaus Gjika and Kein Ribas Johnson, who have once again managed to transport us in time and place with their talents.
Intermission
The Devětsil (Nine Forces) was a group of Czech avant-garde artists including playwrights, actors, and directors. The group existed from 1920 to 1930.
In the Spotlight
This month, we’re shining the spotlight on Michelle Burke from England.
🎭 When did you first get involved in Czech Theater?
It was 2018 and I'd only been in Brno for one year. Someone told me there was a new English speaking theater holding auditions for their first play. I hadn't been on stage since I was a child in a school play but I went along, got a part and have been involved in various capacities ever since. I can't imagine a Brno without Czech Theater.
🎭 Do you have a favorite line from a play that Czech Theater has performed?
Even though I've been in six Czech Theater plays, had pages of lines to learn, seen all of the other wonderful plays Czech Theater has performed, and been to countless rehearsals, I don't actually remember that many lines. Not a huge surprise as I always had to be very inventive finding hiding places on stage for my line prompts.
🎭 Do you have any pre-performance routines or superstitions?
I would have a Mars bar. The only other time I would eat this very sweet chocolate bar would be before a flight. I'm a nervous flyer. I think that says it all.
🎭 Can you share with us any funny or unexpected onstage/backstage mishaps or memories?
My favorite will always be when I blanked on a line and went into a “cottage” on stage earlier than I was supposed to. I remember feeling quite happy and content in the “cottage,” and I think I did the rest of my lines in the scene from in there, much to the bemusement of my fellow actors.
🎭 What do you like most about being part of Czech Theater?
Czech Theater gives non-Czech speakers a space in Brno to be close to creativity and to have a collective experience, both of which are so important when you are building a sense of belonging to a place. This space can be on stage and behind the scenes, or it can also be just as valuable having a conversation about the characters and the performance during the interval, or at the after-party where everyone in the audience is invited to to extend the experience.
A Tough Act to Follow
Czech Theater’s first play, R.U.R. by Karel Čapek, translated into English by Claudia Novack, premiered on 3 November 2018. Čapek’s play introduced the word robot to the world and imagined a society transformed by an artificial workforce. In this scene, Domin (Aaron Collier), the General Manager of Rossum’s Universal Robots, and his efficient robot secretary Sulla (Yana Oliynyk) are busy replying to customers as demand for robots is high.