Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2001 - 31

THE
SHATTERED
MIRROR A
by

Delbert Unruh

PART I
30

W I N T E R

2 0 0 1

TD & T

THEATRE
IN
SEARCH
OF
ITSELF

Introduction
In a conversation in the fall of 1999 with Vera Patackova, the
distinguished theorist of Czech scenography at the State Theatre Institute in Prague, she remarked that when she looks at
Czech theatre and scenography today, "...it feels like I am
looking into a shattered mirror. Life in the Czech Republic is
fractured today and this is reflected in the theatre. Nothing
seems to hang together. There are many themes and directions. There do not seem to be any rules in life anymore and
there do not seem to be any aesthetic rules in art either."
(Patackova, 1999)
As is usual, Patackova put her finger precisely in the
center of the situation. Czech theatre today is shattered.
Under Socialism there was uniform and widespread agreement on the role and function of theatre in society. Today,
no common theme informs the work, and theatre companies attempt to carve out artistic or commercial niches in
which they can work and attract an audience. The epicenter of this shattered mirror, of course, is the Prague theatre, and in that theatre the following general characteristics
are evident.

the Prague Theatre Scene
There are many shards of this shattered mirror. Some drama
theatres now strike out boldly in a self-conscious attempt to
create a new Avant-Garde based on the ideas of direct association, others attempt to appeal to the widest possible audience
through commercially popular pieces, featuring well-known
television actors. Some theatres are returning slowly to an aesthetic based on metaphor and the universality of human action
and relationships, while other theatres assemble talented
companies around "stars" and devote their efforts solely to the
production of mainly Western musicals. Some theatres attempt
to reconstitute the musical hall tradition of the period between
the wars, while other companies build or renovate existing
theatre spaces to present original "Muzikáls." Opera and
dance production ranges from the most uninspired and traditional renditions to new and sometimes bewildering
reworkings of classic fare. The State Opera deliberately skews
its season towards contemporary material in an attempt to attract a new and younger audience. The result is a raucous cacophony of theatrical activity that seems to pose new questions
every day.
The easy answer to all of it is that it is just what one would
expect to find in a pluralistic society. But because that answer
is easy it also misses the real point. While we in the United
States are familiar with the effect of a pluralistic society on the
theatre, this concept is new in the Czech Republic. Czech theatre, ten years after the revolution, is experiencing a creative
explosion and crisis, a renewal and a decay, all at the same
time. Everything is up for grabs. Old forms and new forms are
being simultaneously derided and defended, thrown out and
reclaimed. And so the mirror reassembles itself and then shatters over and over again. One shard now reflects the general
working situation in the theatres.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2001