Arts | All stories

Described as a musical morality tale, the Tiger Lillies bi-lingual show Zde jsem Člověkem! or Here I Am Human! has just enjoyed a short but successful first run at Prague’s leading avant-garde theatre, Divadlo Archa.

Just a few days ago the Czech Republic’s Cirk Putyka performed for the 65th time its acclaimed La Putyka, a show which combines the setting of a Czech pub with dance, music, acrobatics and puppetry. In short, elements typical of New Circus. Authored by performer Rosťa Novák, La Putyka (which is slang for pub or run-down dive), was featured in a slimmed-down version this year at the Czech Expo in Shanghai, and this weekend will premiere for the first time in English in the Czech capital.

Though it only began last year, the International Cinematographers’ Film Festival Ostrava is fast becoming an important part of the cultural calendar in the old industrial city in the north-east of the country. With the 2010 edition due to kick off in just under a fortnight, I caught up with two of its young organisers in Prague: programme director Jakub Felcman, and Anna Kopecká, who is head of the programme department.

Thursday saw the premiere of a new documentary on HBO Czech Republic by respected filmmaker and cameraman David Čálek. Called Heaven, Hell – the film was aired as part of HBO’s Bez Cenzury (Without Censorship) series tackling issues rarely examined on the big or small screens. Heaven, Hell is a year-long look into the lives of four people deeply involved in the BDSM scene – that is bondage, domination, and sadomasochism.

The 15th International Organ Festival got underway at Prague’s St James’ Basilica on Thursday night with a recital by the American organist John Scott. In a series of eight concerts over a month and a half, the city’s music lovers will have the chance to hear some of the world’s best players perform on greatest organ in the Czech capital.

The future is not what is used to be. This popular statement was the inspiration for a fresh exhibition that opened at Prague’s DOX Center for Contemporary Art this week. It is titled The Future of the Future and explores not just our visions of the future, but also how our understanding of the actual concept has changed. On display are works by artists from Austria, England, Germany and the US. Sarah Borufka went and took a look at what the future holds.

The Let’s Dance Prague International Festival, focusing largely on oriental dance including genres such as tribal, and styles like funky jazz, flamenco, flirt or street dance, is an event unlike any other in the Czech capital. The reason? It offers not only performances by professionals but also by amateurs, and provides workshops with world-class performers. Let’s Dance, now in its fifth year, began this Thursday and will continue through to the end of the week. Even as it kicked off, I caught up with one of the main organizers, Karolina Idrisová,

The Argentinean singer Jose Cura is one of the biggest stars of contemporary opera, known for his powerful and distinctive interpretations of characters like Verdi’s Otello. Czech fans will have a rare chance to see him in the flesh this weekend, when he performs two concerts at the International Music Festival in Český Krumlov, one of the country’s most beautiful towns.

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival kicked off in the west Bohemian spa town for the 45th time on July 1st. And while the event itself is reaching middle age it is still displaying its power to pull in a remarkably young audience as the turnout in the crowded Hotel Thermal, the heart of the festival where most of the films are shown, testifies. Sarah Borufka was among the guests and reports on the festival’s special role.

Opposed, later persecuted – and finally forgotten. That was the fate of many Czech Catholic writers, who stood outside the literary mainstream. In one of Europe’s most atheist nations, the impact of these authors gradually diminished throughout the 20th century although in their heyday, in the interwar period, they managed to convey many original ideas and intriguing artistic expressions.