Prague Theatre Festival in the German language 2003
An initiative of the Allianz Kulturstiftung in cooperation with Prager Theaterfestival Deutscher Sprache.
The Prague Theatre Festival in the German language was originally established in 1996 under the name "Deutsches Theater Prag" in order to revive the tradition of international coexistence and the mutual enrichment of Czech, German and Jewish culture in the Czech metropolis which had been forcibly disrupted.
W. Shakespeare: Othello (Direction: Luk Perceval)
Not only the directors of four renowned theatres from Germany, Austria and Switzerland and the director of the Theater in den Weinbergen in Prague picked up this initiative but also the presidents of the four countries involved, who from the very beginning took on the patronage for the Festival side by side with the City of Prague.The novelty of the eighth "Prager Theaterfestival deutscher Sprache" is the place where three visiting productions will be performed: The Große Atrium of the trade-fair palace, which has been made available by the National Gallery in Prague, enables not only a spacious stage but also an auditorium in which - thanks to its being raised - the audience can directly experience the happening on the stage just like being in a studio theatre. The National Gallery will therefore be the co-producer of the Festival. This year's foreign play at the festival opening will be Ibsen's "Nora" performed by the Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz Berlin.
H. Ibsen: Nora (Direction: Thomas Ostermeier)
With this production the director Thomas Ostermeier is looking for the Nora of today and at the same time describes the motto of the Prague Festival: The differing approaches by young theatre directors to the classic dramas also play a supporting role in the dramaturgy of the selected plays as well as the female characters in them. In addition to this the Hamburg Thalia Theater and the Bavarian State Theatre will again present two productions. The Modern Drama, introduced by the productions of the Münchner Kammerspiele (Munich Studio Theatre) and the Theater Basel, is also presented in the Festival Programme. Prizewinners of this year's "Max" Contest, which will be held by the theatre managers in cooperation with the Allianz Kulturstiftung and which is awarded to the best production of a play in Prague in the German language, is the production "Top Dogs" by the Brünn theatre "HaDivadlo" directed by Jiri Pokorny. The prize will be presented before the performance on 25.11.2003.Further information about the programme and on ordering tickets can be found on the web-site: http://www.theater.cz.
18th - 29th November 2003.
