Up End Down Symphony(2021)

294 statečných(cs)

T. Dianiška's documentary fiction from behind the scenes of the assassination of R. Heydrich, in which the real story is intertwined with comic exaggeration, pop culture references, and harsh humor. 294 Brave Men was written by Tomáš Dianiška for the Divadlo po Palmovkou theater, where he also staged it with the local ensemble. As the title of the play suggests, the protagonists of Operation Anthropoid are not the main heroes in this case. 294 Brave Men refers to the people from the domestic resistance who paid with their lives for helping the paratroopers and whose names are now borne by streets in Libeň and the surrounding Prague districts. T. Dianiška treats historical facts with respect, but at the same time quite freely, and he depicts the background of "the greatest heroic deed in our history" with the help of humor, often very dark humor.

Honegger’s “Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher” with Alan Gilbert and Marion Cotillard(fr)

On June 8, 2024, Oscar-winning French actress Marion Cotillard joined the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for a performance of Arthur Honegger’s oratorio Jeanne d'Arc au Bûcher (Joan of Arc at the Stake), conducted by Alan Gilbert, performed at the Berliner Philharmonie in Berlin, Germany and broadcast live on Digital Concert Hall, the online concert hall of the Berliner Philharmonie. In the oratorio, Joan of Arc looks back on her life, her visions, and her successes during a show trial in which she is sentenced to be burned at the stake.

Kukura(sk)

A theater director and a young director await an actress’s decision on a role, triggering a scathing critique of how TV’s degraded practices and commercial pressures marginalize true artistry. Through the director’s expansive monologue, inspired by Juraj Kukura’s ethos, he reflects on his life in culture, his convictions about theater, colleagues, and the survival of artistic integrity in today’s climate.

Sova(sk)

A chamber play depicts the tense yet tender daily interactions between an elderly intellectual grandmother mourning her late husband and her daughter’s child on maternity leave, who lives alone in the family’s large house. Their generational clashes over values, technology, and changing social norms reveal both alienation and moments of mutual understanding.

Tančiareň(sk)

Dancing through Slovak history of the twentieth century. Based on the Theatre du Campagnol performance "Le Bal" by Jean-Claude Penchenat, written by M. Huba and M. Porubjak. A dance locale - a place where people who are looking for partners come together. Lonely individuals become couples, people who were strangers not so long ago become partners and lovers. Outside, conditions change and regimes change, the country is overwhelmed by great history, the whirlwind of the World War, the communist coup, the hopeful spring of 1968, the fraternal occupation, the Hussite normalisation, November 1989 and the collapse of Czechoslovakia. Only those lonely dancers on the dance floor remain the same - with their human longings, their ridiculousness and their unfulfilled dreams.

Troilos a Kressida(sk)

Shakespeare's tragicomedy about the banality of love, pride and war performed by DJP in Trnava... Troilus and Cressida is a tragicomic play in which Shakespeare cynically portrays the fates of legendary Greek and Trojan heroes, but also the story of one destroyed love, and especially the image of a useless war. A pseudo-historical fresco that has perhaps never been more topical in the domestic socio-political context. What does a Trojan War look like in which the greatest icons of ancient Greece do not want to fight? A kidnapped Helen as a ridiculous pretext; a sulking and proud Achilles wallowing in a tent and refusing to fight; men who rely more on bickering backstage politics than on concrete deeds; pandering, revenge and, as befits a proper Shakespeare, blood and death.

Seethakathi(ta)

A veteran theatre artist who lives for his art 'enters' the world of films. Can the film industry hold on to his inimitable artistry?

Maryša(cs)

More than ten years have passed since the famous premiere of the equally famous drama Maryša by the Mrštík brothers at the Husa na provázku Theater in Brno. Vladimír Morávek's new staging provoked a number of enthusiastic responses as well as great indignation. He subsequently left for the theater in Hradec Králové to launch a great era of drama, which he crowned with a return to the scene of the crime – Brno.

Oscar pro Emily(cs)

Emily and Henry are two elderly actors whose marriage has lasted 45 years. In their modest suburban apartment, they are preparing for the annual highlight of the year, the Academy Awards ceremony. Both hope that their life's work will finally be recognized. They nervously discuss appropriate attire, quote from famous theater roles, including those they probably never played, argue, and make up. When Jeff from the delivery service brings them lunch, they finally have the audience they have been missing for so many years. Although Jeff brings them lunch every day and is, so to speak, part of the family, this time he surprises them greatly.

Liliom(sk)

Liliom, a charismatic early-20th-century carousel operator, loses his livelihood after finding true love and becomes enmeshed in a crime that brings guilt, punishment, and a slim chance at redemption.

Koločava(cs)

The production was based on Ivan Olbracht's novel Nikola Šuhaj loupežník (Nikola Šuhaj the Robber). The music draws on Petr Ulrych's famous LP, which was released in 1974, won the Bílá vrána (White Crow) award from Mladý svět magazine, and subsequently inspired a production at Prague's Divadlo Ateliér theater. Among other things, the band Javory was formed on this occasion. The expanded band Javory also plays and sings in the 2002 production of the Brno City Theater, and additional musical numbers were created for it. Of the 25 numbers, more than half are new to the performance. Petr Ulrych won the A. Radok Award for his music. Director and author of the theatrical adaptation Stanislav Moša incorporated film footage into the production, which works wonderfully as a reminiscence of natural beauty. Also worth mentioning is the impressive choreography of the police and bandit choirs and the excellent acting and singing performances, led by Petr Štěpán in the lead role.

Vygumuj a napíš(sk)

Taken from the Radošino Naive Theatre. Ján Melkovič played here the character of the composer Ján Petrović-self. Stanislav Štepka wrote this exceptional play for him as a gift for his 50th birthday.

Človečina(sk)

The princess wants to get married. She wants the groom to be no coward, he must be free from fear and shame, so she orders all the men in the area to join the army. Only the shoemaker Matěj escapes from the recruiter. In the forest, he meets a fairy and other creatures and sews them shoes for free. As a reward, he receives a magical mustache...

Un diner d'adieu(fr)

Why do we often go to dinners we don't want to attend, to see friends who aren't really friends anymore? Out of habit? Out of kindness? Out of cowardice? Intoxicated by the idea of tidying up their schedules by sorting through their old friends, Pierre and Clotilde Lecoeur (played by ERIC ELMOSNINO and LYSIANE MEIS) decide to organize farewell dinners, the ultimate form of friendly divorce. However, by choosing - as their first victim - Antoine Royer (played by GUILLAUME DE TONQUÉDEC), their oldest friend, Pierre and Clotilde are unaware that they are getting caught up in a downward spiral.

Šašek a královna(cs)

Merci Zaza - La folle histoire de la Cage aux Folles(fr)

A look back at "La Cage aux Folles", which ran non-stop for five years, from February 1973, on the stage of the Théâtre du Palais Royal in Paris. At a time when homosexuality was considered a crime by the law, Poiret and Serrault achieved great success in boulevard theater. Their success continued on the silver screen, with three Oscar nominations and a Broadway musical. Combining never-before-seen archives from the play, extracts from the film, confessions by Poiret and Serrault, and interviews with witnesses, this is the story of a wild epic.

Pygmalion(sk)

Higgins, a professor of phonetics, makes a bet that he will transform a child of the street - a poor flower seller named Lisa - into a real lady. However, a seemingly innocent game of male whimsy becomes a dangerous gamble with a woman's identity and personality...

Riaditeľky zemegule(sk)

A night at the State Department. Three housekeepers talk about their lives, lovers and break-ups while they work, and have a sure-fire recipe for cleaning up today's messy world. A comedy about normal people trying to make sense of the chaos of the present without going crazy. Mrs Judit is said to come from a former noble family, and by cleaning up she wants to maintain not only her own dignity but also the class of this country. Darina dreams of a lover from England who will propose to her, only somehow she doesn't have the time yet, and the youngest Monika has come to the Ministry to clean for the first time. Gradually, her secret and the real reason why she is here emerge.

Alice(fr)

Written in 1865, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was a popular success. All British schoolchildren and their parents knew about the escapades of the young Alice. With a new score by Philip Glass, a figurehead of American minimalism, choreographers Amir Hosseinpour and Jonathan Lunn reimagine and reinvent Lewis Carroll's fantastical world. Freed from the original narrative, the dancers of the OnR Ballet play a new gallery of contemporary creatures and characters, joined by actress Sunnyi Melles.

Losers Cirque Company: Kolaps(cs)

Live broadcast of an acrobatic light show by a Czech contemporary circus troupe from the end of the Letní Letná festival... The Czech troupe Losers Cirque Company is definitely on par with many foreign troupes in the field of contemporary circus. This is evidenced by the highly successful premiere of the performance Kolaps (Collapse), which took place at the end of the Letní Letná festival on August 31, 2017. The great strength of Kolaps lies not only in its physical and acrobatic perfection, but also in its subtle humor, play with light, and live music. That is why this amusing performance, which depicts human life from birth to death, is returning to Letní Letná this year. Czech Television is delighted to be involved, not least because it will be the first complete performance by a Czech company in this genre to be shown on our screens.