Theatre
Ostrava did not have a professional theatre until the 1890s. At that time, the city's inhabitants spoke not only Czech and Polish, but also German, after a wave of immigration sponsored by German capital. In 1881, the City was able to host large opera companies at the renovated theatre of the municipal shooting range. In 1895, with the establishment of German House, the residents of Ostrava could regularly attend performances by provincial German theatre groups of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, German and Prussian Silesia, and even the Vienna Burghtheater.
In 1907, the German residents of Ostrava built a new municipal theatre, which quickly became an important centre of German culture in the region. In 1908, the National House began to serve as a stage for professional Czech theatre and cabaret. Czech theatre expanded significantly in Ostrava after the establishment of Czechoslovakia as an independent country in 1918, and again in the 1990s, after the fall of Communism.
The National Moravian-Silesian Theatre
The Moravian-Silesian National Theatre, home to several permanent theatre companies, opened on August 12th, 1919 with a performance of an opera by Bedřich Smetana, the Bartered Bride. Today, as the largest and oldest of Ostrava's professional theatrical organisations. The National Moravian-Silesian Theatre is housed in two buildings – the Jiří Myron Theatre (building of the former National House), where operettas, musicals, drama and ballet are performed, and the Antonín Dvořák Theatre (former Municipal Theatre), reserved for the opera, drama and ballet.
Each of the National Theatre companies performs a repertoire of Czech and international classics, as well as works by contemporary authors. Today, the Moravian-Silesian National Theatre ranks among the country's best. It participates in numerous theatre festivals, and is a point of interest for domestic and foreign directors, choreographers, and soloists. Each year, the four artistic ensembles present about twenty new productions, 4 – 6 of which are operas, 7 – 8 dramatic performances and 2 ballet presentations. Some 200 000 theatre goers arrive to see nearly five hundred performances at the Moravian-Silesian National Theatre in the two buildings.
Národní divadlo moravskoslezské, p.o.
Čs. legií 14, 701 04 Ostrava
tel: +420 596 114 840
www.ndm.cz
The Ostrava Puppet Theatre
In the spring of 1918, at the former Slavia Hotel, the Vlasta Puppet Theatre Ensemble was established, performing fairy-tales for children, as well as Czech classics for adults. In 1953, a professional Puppet Theatre was established which, in 1999, was finally awarded its own custom-built premises. Located on Masaryk Square, the new, professionally equipped theatre was built to meet the needs of the most demanding directors. Today, the theatre performs a rich repertoire to satisfy a wide audience of all ages. Since 1995, the theatre has hosted every odd year the Spectaculo Interesse International Puppet Festival and since 2000 every even year the Theatre Days without Barriers (see Festivals).
Divadlo loutek Ostrava, p.o.
Pivovarská 15, 729 82 Ostrava 1
tel: +420 596 114 884
www.dlo-ostrava.cz
The Petr Bezruč Theater
The second oldest professional theatre company in Ostrava was founded shortly after the war, in 1945. At the time it was called "Kytice" (Bouquet), and focused on children. Over the years, the company changed addresses and names. Today, it is officially known as the Petr Bezruč Theatre Company, and is in part financed from the municipal budget. The repertoire consists almost exclusively of plays, although there is room for a few musicals. The theatre still concentrates on younger audiences, and provides young directors and acting students from the Janáček Conservatory and local Arts schools with their first opportunities on stage.
Divadelní společnost Petra Bezruče, s.r.o.
28. října 120
702 00 Ostrava
tel: +420 596 618 363
www.bezruci.cz
Arena Chamber Theater
This is one of the youngest, and at the same time, smallest theatres in the Czech Republic . It was established in the former Music Theatre, which in 1991 was transformed into a multi-genre art theatre. The Aréna Chamber Theatre follows the tradition of small generation theatres and its professional drama ensemble gives nonconformist studio-type performances, especially for secondary-school and university students.
This theatre allows talented young actors and stage directors. At the same time, a number of renowned and experienced stage directors have worked with the ensemble. They like to come here to try out possibilities of performing in a more intimate environment. Besides its own productions, Arena stages interesting musical programmes, organises discussions and club get-togethers and instruction programmes for children and youth. It also participates in the organisation of the Folklore Without Frontiers international folklore festival.
Komorní scéna Aréna, p.o.
28. října 2, 702 00 Ostrava
tel: +420 596 130 622
tel. +420 595 155 595 (ticket office)
www.divadloarena.cz
The White Theatre (Bílé divadlo)
The White Theatre Ostrava is a free artistic association that has been working with stage and paratheatrical experiments. The most interesting fact about the White Theatre is that it is performed by pure amateurs. Each of the actors has a full-time job and their mise en scene is produced in their free time. The chorus first performed “Dam of Eternity" based on a prose by Bohumil Hrabal in 1982. From the begining Bílé divadlo shaped itself as a plein air theatre performing a number of difficult stage project such as Tristan a Isolda, Faust, „May“ by Mácha etc.