Drama

A co-production of the South Bohemian Theatre and the Czech Radio České Budějovice

A documentary drama about spontaneous protests in České Budějovice against the occupation

As elsewhere, people in České Budějovice spontaneously protested against the occupation. Others were afraid and collaborated with the occupiers. The occupation and the subsequent normalisation had a profound impact on the whole of Czechoslovak society and affected people’s lives many years later. 1968 is still considered one of the key moments in modern Czech history.
What role did Radio České Budějovice play in these dramatic moments? How did the employees experience the turbulent days of August? Maria Špalová’s documentary drama draws on authentic recordings preserved in the radio archive and the testimonies of witnesses.
The production will be staged in the authentic environment of the České Budějovice radio studio.

The roof needs a complete renovation because the tiles keep falling off and endangering pedestrians. The air shafts are rotting, the house has no lift and it is urgently necessary to install new gas lines. At the same time, there is only a hundred and fifty thousand crowns in the repair fund. Obviously, the proposal to sell the loft premises looks like a great solution. But unfortunately, the Association members considerably diverge in their views. Set at a house meeting, this award-winning play reveals much more about our society than we might want it to.

Does a teacher also have the right to her intimate life? A bitter comedy about one huge blunder

A theatre adaptation of the film awarded the Crystal Globe at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival and the Golden Bear at the Berlinale Film Festival. The story of a teacher who made a home-made porn with her husband that became public. Does a teacher have the right to do whatever she wants in her free time, or is she a 24-hour teacher and her moral credit must be unassailable?
You know the biblical saying “Let any of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone”? But the vast majority of outraged parents is far from willing to follow it.

The sensationalist case of the century portrayed in Petr Zelenka’s clever comedy.

Did David Beckham and his secretary Rebecca Loos exchange a mere kiss in the autumn of 2004, or did something really happen between the two of them? Regardless of what actually happened, Max Clifford, the grey eminence of the British tabloid press, decides to make it the scandal of the century. The tabloid pages become the scene of a fierce duel resembling a full-blown military operation. Who is going to win? Clifford or the Beckhams? Petr Zelenka, one of the most remarkable contemporary Czech playwrights, uses his own particular humour to reveal a little-known drama from behind the scenes of the tabloid media.

A brilliant, daring adaptation of a classic drama that is not so much about the hat tossed aside or the great nose that is the banner of a towering spirit, but about love, desire, the conflict between body and mind, the power of words, and life. A love story for lovers of classic and modern drama. After Hamlet, the next piece in the “Classics in the Attic” series.

The famous work of the Renaissance poet Giovanni Boccaccio. A comedy about love, jealousy, intriguers and the cheated, full of unexpected surprises, by the authors Martin Glaser and Olga Šubrtová, directors of other plays that have achieved high popularity with the audiences: The Three Musketeers, Robin Hood and The Wives of Henry VIII.

Subtitles in EN and DE

Premiere shifted from the 19/20 season.

A man and a woman get to know each other by chance while queuing at the airport and passionately fall in love... The feeling of love is followed by marriage, a child, a house, troubles at work … And gradually the feelings start to change. The once sunny idyll becomes a terrifying nightmare, posing the question: What is the price for meeting the “man of your life”?

Life is a fight. For love, for justice, for power. But is it actually worth it? Wouldn’t it be much simpler to put an end to it forever? Simply fall asleep, sleep … The most famous tragedy of all times in an original rendition by Jakub Čermák.

How to Feed a Dictator is an adaptation of the award-winning book by the Polish journalist Witold Szabłowski, which features the compelling stories of the personal chefs of Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin, Enver Hoxha, Fidel Castro and Pol Pot. Witnesses who were forced to serve and feed the men who held the destinies of nations in their hands, open the curtain on their lives and reveal the delicious taste of power and the bitterness of its consequences.
A fictional contest in which the chefs of the greatest mass murderers compete in what they do best – cooking for survival, with the grand prize being granted a pardon. The final round brings together a chef who cooked out of fear, a chef who cooked to better himself and a chef who cooked out of political conviction.
The Hunger Games of today’s Western world looks at the fate of people for whom food was a scarce commodity through the lens of those who waste it in an endless barrage of culinary shows.

A play about a fictional meeting of two real people – “Hitler’s court director” Leni Riefenstahl and the famous American host Johnny Carson on America’s most viewed talk show. How will the artist who put her extraordinary talent at the service of totalitarian power defend herself? How will the clash of two strong personalities in front of the merciless cameras turn out?

Anna, a teacher, lives in a small flat with her second husband. They are not rich but they are happy together. Then, unexpectedly, Anna’s first husband is released from prison because he had been unfairly convicted. With nowhere to go, he naturally returns to his home. However, husband No. 2 has already settled into his slippers! And so begins an absurd cohabitation with no prospect of a change in sight. The men can either kill each other or – become friends. And later one more woman appears …

At the centre of the events is the mikveh, a ritual bath that becomes not only a place of purification, but also a space for women to share joys, sorrows, secrets and the desire for change. The play reveals a world full of prejudice, but also the power of women’s solidarity and their courage to face adversity. The author Hadar Galron peers into the intimate moments of women of different ages, with different life stories, unravelling their complex lives with love and humour. What is more important – faith, tradition or freedom? This 2005 play has successfully toured the world.

A cultured middle-class family and their long-time friend, all of whom are hundred percent supporters of liberal thinking, are about to sit down to dinner. However, as Vincent announces the name he is going to give his son, whose birth is drawing near, he lets the genie out of the bottle. The polished conversation turns into a ruthless verbal battle escalating into blows below the belt. A real explosion occurs when a family secret comes to light.

What is going on? A couple’s usual return from holiday becomes a nightmare. Their friends who were to water the flowers took hold of their flat, and now you cannot be sure about anything any longer, let alone about yourselves. A normal reality, normal situation, and the relationships have got out of control. Is this a reason to panic or to have fun?

A 5D theatre experience that you will enjoy with all your senses

A theatre experiment somewhere between a radio play and immersive theatre, which will allow you to roll around in the theatre for the first time in your life as if you were in your living room.
Two soldiers travel with a secret mission into the depths of the wilderness. The further they move away from Western civilisation, the more reality and fantasy intertwine on their journey. A dangerous journey into the depths of the Afghan wilderness is also a dangerous journey into the darkness of the human soul. Lotz’s Ridiculous Darkness is an intelligent, witty and unconventional commentary on the state of “Western” society today. Have we come to terms with our colonial legacy? Who is the bearer of civilization today and who is the barbarian? And how can the author, who studied creative writing and lives with his parents in Leipzig, answer these questions?

Based on a theory by Doctor Vlach’s, a character in this comedy, there are three kinds of people. Imagine sitting at an elegant half-empty café with a bowl of doughnuts in front of you. The first group will only stare obliviously at the doughnuts. The second group will wonder with curiosity what would happen if you started bombarding other guests with these doughnuts without warning. Only exceptional individuals, belonging to the third group, will realise their ideas with delight. And the main character, the servant Saturnin, is exactly such a distinctive man who – using his irresistible charm – interferes in the life of the young gentleman and his adored lady-friend Barbora, but he also inspires his peculiar grandfather to do fantastically crazy tricks. And he even stands up dauntlessly to Aunt Catherine, armed with a whole lot of proverbs.

1. - 23. 6. 2024

The beautiful and sensible Elinor, and even more beautiful and wild Marianne, two sisters who grew up in luxury in a castle, face a harsh fate after their father’s death. According to ancient laws, their half-brother inherits the property and they (and their mother and their underage sister) must move to a simple village house. Their future is extremely uncertain – who will want to marry the girls without a dowry? Moreover, when both stubbornly long to marry for love?

But gentlemen have already appeared on the scene – the shy and witty Edward, the brave Colonel Brandon, the charming Willoughby and the rich Lord Quido... The magical colour of Jane Austen’s novels comes to life in the castle gardens of Český Krumlov, taking us back two centuries, to the times when stories of great romantic love still existed …

Alice is a successful woman with a happy family. One day, she goes jogging and then she is not able to find her way back home. After she is diagnosed with an early form of Alzheimer’s disease, she starts her tragic as well as touching struggle to rescue her previous self.

A provocative play about the state of contemporary theatre and rotten patriarchal society. The director duo Adam Svozil and Kristýna Jankovcová continue their successful series of contemporary chamber plays on the Na Půdě stage. After Almost Perfect Love, Girls and Boys and The Lungs, this time it is more on a gender note.

Czech premiere.

Oldřich of Chlum and his loyal companions, page Ota and commander Diviš, are invited to the castle of a lord of the powerful Vítek family in South Bohemia to investigate a series of strange crimes. Is the murderer really the phantom of the late commander or is he a dangerous madman? Time is running out and an emissary of the Holy Inquisition is already on its way. However, seductive women are even more dangerous than the inquisitor … How will the three investigators stand this double test?

A gripping re-enactment of a terrorist attack in a school. A woman survivor searches for answers: Why? What drove the attacker to commit such a terrible act? Will she ever be able to understand and forgive? This drama by a major Scottish playwright for two actors and a choir has toured the world with success.

Czech premiere.

Czech premiere.

The Budweiser Budvar beer is in danger, but a group of loyal regulars will do anything to save it. It is our pride that is at stake! The play, which was written on the commission of the South Bohemian Theatre, will be untraditionally performed in the beer hall of the Budvar Brewery.

It is the year 1920. The young physician Rudolf Slíva is appointed to look after the health of the women employed in the brothels in České Budějovice. It is the Groll Café in Kasárenská Street with its famous courtesan Anna Václavíková that becomes his fate …

23.6. - 13.7.2022

Following the puzzling death of Sir Charles Baskerville on the grounds of his country house, the net is becoming even tighter around his heir. Will Sherlock Holmes and his faithful Watson succeed in stopping the devilish hound? Sherlock Holmes’ most famous case, directed by Petr Zelenka.

Sherlock Holmes is coming! Even your dog is going to be scared!

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A picturesque English manor, elite society, intertwined relationships, ancient secrets – and, of course, a murder. The brilliant detective's grey brain cells get down to work.

A project that made mankind look its own destruction in the eye for the first time

We are witnessing one of the most controversial moments in human history – the development and use of the first atomic bomb. We are at the very heart of a project where a group of brilliant scientists are trying to change the course of the Second World War. We are following a story about moral dilemmas, the dangers of absolute power and the human need to constantly discover something new. In The Manhattan Project, we meet the historical figures of Robert Oppenheimer, Leó Szilárd and Ed Teller and follow their intellectual and emotional struggles against the backdrop of the wartime conflict. Scientific debate collides with ethical questions in a field where every decision can have fatal consequences.

An inexperienced teacher is put in charge of a disturbed and violent 14-year-old boy. It is only up to him whether or not the boy is permanently excluded from school and sent to a juvenile detention centre. Just the two of them in the classroom and an intense clash of words and wills between them. But what can be done with a child who cares for no one and fears nothing? And can one know when to start defending oneself? Duncan MacMillan was rewarded for his play The Monster by the Bruntwood Awards judges. The South Bohemian Theatre has successfully staged MacMillan’s play Lungs for several seasons.

The mysterious history of the Samson brewery comes to life in a new escape play from the South Bohemian Theatre. Unlike the classic plays of this kind, this time you will meet living characters, and while secretly listening to their conversations, you will be revealed the necessary clues. Where did the barrel washer Joseph disappear to? What is making the maltster nervous? And what is hidden in the mysterious cellars? Come and solve the mystery of the missing barrel washer!

The incredible story of Josef Hasil, who became an elusive people smuggler across the border after February 1948, is based on his own recollections, the testimonies of contemporary witnesses and archive documents. The State Security itself named its feared rival the King of the Bohemian Forest. An exceptional human life story, an adventure with a background of political espionage in which fatal women are not missing …