Archa Theatre
Address:
Archa Theatre – Box Office
Na Poøíèí 26, 110 00, Prague 1 map
Programme: check for upcoming events
Archa - An English friendly theatre!
Archa is an English friendly theatre, with many 'no language barrier' concerts and dance and physical theatre performances. We also strive, through additional written materials in English, to make Czech language performances as accessible as possible to non-Czech speaking audiences.
Many of Archa's projects won international repute and have been presented abroad—at theatre festivals in Bonn, Johannesburg, London, Kyoto, Tokyo, Belgrade and Brussels, for example.The original Archa Theatre Studio is also a unique part of the theatre's activities. It places emphasis on the process, not merely the result of the artistic creation. It enables Czech actors and dancers to participate in workshops led by foreign artists. Performer Rinde Eckert, actress Juliet Stevenson and director Ann Bogart are among those who have hosted workshops within the Archa Theatre Studio project.
Archa Theatre cooperates closely and on a regular basis with the French Institute, the British Council, Goethe-Institut, the Polish Institute, the Japan Foundation, the Austrian Cultural Institute and other foreign representatives in the Czech Republic. The Dance Theatre Workshop and Arts International New York are Archa's partners in the United States.
The name of Archa Theatre does not allude to the Old Testament story of Noah by accident. On board Noah's ark, the most amazing mixture and variety of all existing animals found themselves side by side, all waiting to survive the destructive flood. Similarly, Archa Theatre strives to be a place open to various and unexpected encounters. Its purpose is to examine the possibilities of art, provide space for innovative ideas and in various ways reflect life at the beginning of the third millennium. The first step towards the establishment of this theatre was made in 1991 when the Municipal Authority of Prague announced a public competition for the position of the director of the Theatre of E.F. Burian. The winning project submitted by Ondøej Hrab involved a radical change of the bombastic and conventional institution - a change that was to include not only a complete reconstruction of the space, but also a new style of management and organization. The owner of the building, the Czech Commercial Bank (Èeskoslovenská obchodní banka), together with the Municipality of the City of Prague, became the main investors in the reconstruction. The total investment exceeded 100 million Czech crowns. The work, carried out according to the architectural design by Ivan Plicka, began in September 1992. One year later, theatre technology designed by Miroslav Melena was installed into the interior spaces. In May 1994, the last inspection of the construction took place and in June of the same year the theatre hosted its opening performance. The original proscenium stage was transformed into a multi-functional space with two halls. The first one, 15 x 28 metres (50 x 93 feet) large, seats 100 to 400 spectators (or, as in case of concerts, up to 1000 standing visitors), the other one seats up to 100 spectators. Both rooms, which can be connected thanks to the system of shifting walls, serve various productions from opera and drama all the way to scenic dance and demanding multimedia performances. The foyer and the theatre club are used as exhibition spaces as well.
