The first event of this year’s Theatre Night, with the presentation of the topic Theatre and Sustainability, is the installation at the Václav Havel Square. The date from 24 to 27 March was intentionally chosen in connection with the week of theatre holidays coordinated by ITI, ASSITEJ, and UNIMA. The celebrations of the International Theatre Day, World Puppetry Day and the World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People will be joined by the installation at the piazetta of the National Theatre, where participating theatres will present their approach to the climate change. Thursday 26 March will be a happening day. Program for the public will take place from 2 to 7 p.m. in association with the National Theatre, including performances, workshops, discussions, and presentations. The event is co-organized by the Arts and Theatre Institute (ATI), National Theatre, Chemical Theatre, Third Space, Rock Opera Prague, HaDivadlo, DISK Theatre, Forum Karlín, and Na Fidlovačce Theatre.
“We have been trying to have a clear topic for the Theatre Night each year, after having talked with participating theatres. Last year’s motto ‘30 Years of Theatre and Democracy’ was reflected in many theatres as the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. We have chosen a hot social topic linked with the sustainability of human civilization this year. Theatre can significantly contribute to higher sensitivity to the climatic change,” explains Martina Pecková Černá from the ATI that has coordinated the Theatre Night in the Czech Republic since 2013. Apart from the March installation/happening, organizers are preparing education webinars Green Thursdays, in which they also focus on ecological topics and good practice in theatre operation. Environmentally friendly operation and the way how to tackle the topic of a climatic crisis are topics the ATI deals with at the non-formal platform Culture for Future, which was initiated in autumn 2019.
The Theatre Night is part of the international project European Theatre Night, which started in Croatia in 2008 by Noc Kazališta. The idea of a shared theatre holiday has spread among more than ten European countries. Last year there were 40 thousand visitors in 109 participating institutions from 30 towns in the Czech Republic. Prague saw 52 participating theatres and companies. The Czech Theatre Night, which has been established in 2013, is thus the biggest project of the European Theatre Night.
Installation/happening: Theatre and Sustainability
from 24 March 9:00 a.m. to 27 March 1:00 p.m.
Václav Havel Square, Praha 1
Free entry
