Theatre Night in the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic’s night of open theatres and spectacular cultural experiences forms a part of the European Theatre Night project, which aims to present theatre in a creative and unconventional format and is always held on the third Saturday in November. The Arts and Theatre Institute (ATI) has been coordinating Theatre Night in the Czech Republic since 2013. The biggest theatrical event of the year offers night tours, theatre workshops, discussion boards with creators, plus shows and performances – all either free of charge or for a low entrance fee.
The aim of the project is to offer the Czech general public a cultural experience comparable to that of other projects devoted to different branches of the arts – such as Literature Night and Museum Night. The project has the potential to amplify the visibility of individual theatre venues and ensembles, but also to raise the profile of Czech theatre as a whole in the minds of the public.
The first-ever Theatre Night in the Czech Republic featured over 80 participating companies from 24 Czech and Moravian towns with over 40,000 people in attendance. Just like in other participating countries, a collective round of applause took place in the Czech Republic at 7pm and resounded throughout all performance spaces. As the organiser of the event, the Arts and Theatre Institute opened an Information Centre for the Prague programme at its registered address on 17 Celetná Street in Prague 1.
As a result of its sheer size and ambitious programme, the second edition of the Czech Republic’s Theatre Night in 2014 was the biggest theatre festival to participate in European Theatre Night. Theatre Night 2014 was held in 29 towns, with 114 participating Czech and Moravian companies and theatres and 50,000 people in attendance. The second edition with its Year of Czech Music theme brought forth several new activities, including a mass bike ride in Prague, a photo competition, and an extensive, popular-educational programme in the Arts and Theatre Institute building.
The 3rd Annual Theatre Night in 2015 highlighted the strength of community and solidarity by supporting the bone marrow donation campaign “Na dřeň.” The campaign saw Theatre Night join in raising awareness of the need for bone marrow donors for leukemia patients and provided free tickets to participating theatres to those who registered at one of the donor registration centres. This edition was once again the largest in Europe with 50,000 people in attendance and 111 participating companies and theatres from 36 Czech and Moravian towns, which once again proved the Czech Republic’s dominance in European Theatre Night.
he 4th Annual Theatre Night took place on 19 November 2016 with 50,000 people in attendance and 108 participating theatres and cultural organisations hailing from 31 towns.
In 2017, Theatre Night in the Czech Republic celebrated its 5th anniversary, this time focusing on younger audiences with its underlying theme Forever Young. This edition included a variety of workshops, educational activities, escape games, scavenger hunts, as well as popular afterparties. The fifth edition saw 102 theatres and cultural institutions participate from 35 towns throughout the Czech Republic. All in all, the event attracted an audience of over 45,000 people.
The date for the 6th Annual Theatre Night in 2018 not only fell on the symbolic Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day on 17 November, but was also joined by a number of historically significant anniversaries for the Czech Republic, including: the 100th anniversary of Czechoslovakia and the 25th anniversary of the Dissolution of Czechoslovakia into the independent Czech and Slovak Republics. The theme for that year was thus, unsurprisingly, Czechoslovak Theatrical Cooperation. This motto was also jointly chosen by the Theatre Institute Bratislava as the coordinator of Slovakia’s Theatre Night. That year’s Theatre Night in the Czech Republic saw 106 cultural institutions from 30 towns participate with 40,000 people in attendance.
The 7th Annual Theatre Night with the theme Theatre and Freedom took place on 16 November 2019, on the eve of the thirtieth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, which marked the deconstruction of the communist totalitarian regime in what was then Czechoslovakia. The program offered discussion boards with witnesses and activists for social and political change after 1989, lectures, exhibitions, installations, performances, and other thematic events. 106 theatres, ensembles, and institutions took part and the event attracted over 40 000 visitors.
The 8th Annual Theatre Night took place in a significantly different format than in previous years. Theatres were to connect with their audiences only through online platforms. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, that year’s underlying theme Theatre and Sustain-Long-Ability became even more relevant and pressing than the event’s organisers could have ever anticipated. expected due to the worldwide SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. A total of 64 theatres from 17 towns and municipalities in the Czech Republic took part in Theatre Night 2020. This year’s event included an 8-hour telegram entitled “Theatre is, was, and will be here (today all day)” organised by the event coordinator for the Arts and Theatre Institute. The multi-media piece consisting of live inputs and pre-taped recordings connected 28 theatres from 9 cities.
The 9th Annual Theatre Night will take place on the 20 November 2021, this year with the underlying theme Fresh Air. Participating theatres will present brand-new stage productions and theatrical innovations as well as their reflections on the pandemic and the significant impact it has had on the performing arts. The Arts and Theatre Institute (ATI) is also set to open its doors as the festival’s primary information centre following a year-long hiatus.
European Theatre Night
In 2010 the project surfaced outside Croatia for the first time and changed its name to European Theatre Night. Dubrava Children’s Theatre launched a new website for the project (www.europeantheatrenight.com) which is the central information site for all the participating countries. The first European Theatre Night took place in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Slovakia. The coordinator of Theatre Night in Slovakia is the Theatre Institute in Bratislava and during the first year there 26 theatres took part and there were performances of more than 40 productions. The project is coordinated in Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Bosnian National Theatre (Zenica), and there 33 companies in 17 towns participated that year. Montenegro joined in at the last minute, so the only participating institution was the National Theatre, which had 1,000 visitors on its first Theatre Night.
The year 2011 witnessed an expansion of the project to more countries and an increase in public awareness of the event. Seven countries took part: Austria, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. In Austria the project is coordinated by IG Kultur and IG Freie Theaterarbeit in Vienna, and 6 towns took part that year with performances by 32 theatres. In Slovenia Gledališče Glej in Ljubljana is the coordinator, and it organised events in 7 towns. In Serbia, coordination was handled by the Network Media in Belgrade and events were held in 21 theatres in 20 towns.
In 2012, European Theatre Night enjoyed participation from Slovakia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Hungary as well as Croatia. More than 230 performances took place in a total of 87 European towns and cities.
European Theatre Night took place in 2013 again in Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovakia, and it premiered that year in Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria.
In 2014, the Theatre Night took place in seven European countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia and Serbia. The second edition hosted 153 European cities with 700 performances, exhibitions, lectures, workshops and other interesting events.
European Theatre Night
In 2010 the project surfaced outside Croatia for the first time and changed its name to European Theatre Night. Dubrava Children’s Theatre launched a new website for the project (www.europeantheatrenight.com) which is the central information site for all the participating countries. The first European Theatre Night took place in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Slovakia. The coordinator of Theatre Night in Slovakia is the Theatre Institute in Bratislava and during the first year there 26 theatres took part and there were performances of more than 40 productions. The project is coordinated in Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Bosnian National Theatre (Zenica), and there 33 companies in 17 towns participated that year. Montenegro joined in at the last minute, so the only participating institution was the National Theatre, which had 1,000 visitors on its first Theatre Night.
The year 2011 witnessed an expansion of the project to more countries and an increase in public awareness of the event. Seven countries took part: Austria, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. In Austria the project is coordinated by IG Kultur and IG Freie Theaterarbeit in Vienna, and 6 towns took part that year with performances by 32 theatres. In Slovenia Gledališče Glej in Ljubljana is the coordinator, and it organised events in 7 towns. In Serbia, coordination was handled by the Network Media in Belgrade and events were held in 21 theatres in 20 towns.
In 2012, European Theatre Night enjoyed participation from Slovakia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Hungary as well as Croatia. More than 230 performances took place in a total of 87 European towns and cities.
European Theatre Night took place in 2013 again in Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovakia, and it premiered that year in Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria.
In 2014, the Theatre Night took place in seven European countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia and Serbia. The second edition hosted 153 European cities with 700 performances, exhibitions, lectures, workshops and other interesting events.