The 11th volume of the edition Personalities of Czech Scenography is dedicated to the personality of the scenographer Ivo Žídek. The Czech-English monograph maps Žídek's activities from his early work in Ústí nad Labem and the Drama Club through the period of his collaboration with director Jan Grossman on the flagship productions of the Na zábradlí Theatre to his recent work at the Viola Theatre. Ivo Žídek was born in 1948, studied stage design at the Prague DAMU under Professor František Tröster, then at the UMPRUM in the studio of Josef Svoboda. From 1979 to 1984 he worked at the State Theatre Z. Nejedlý in Ústí nad Labem, Drama Club. Here he lived through its significant era, when this small theatre came into the limelight for its bold dramaturgy, direction and remarkable ensemble of young talented actors. He established a close collaboration with director Ivan Rajmont and costume designer Irena Greifová (productions of Goldoniáda, Period Dances, Images from History, Zojčin byt, Heda Gablerová and others). He found another permanent directing partner in Petr Novotný at the Karlin Musical Theatre (Gypsies Go to Heaven, Some Like It Hot, My Fair Lady, etc.). From 1989 to 1993, he worked with director Jan Grossman on the key productions of this era (Don Juan, Largo desolato, Temptation). From 1990 to 1994, he was a permanent stage designer at the National Theatre in Prague, where he worked mainly in a team with I. Rajmont and M. Krobot. In 1989, he met director Lída Engelová; they mostly collaborated on French comedies, and to this day they still create chamber productions together at the Viola Theatre in Prague.
