Members of the ND will say goodbye to the New Stage this Wednesday before its reconstruction

Prague - Members of the National Theatre (ND) in Prague will bid farewell to the New Stage this Wednesday, June 18, with a program for the public, artists, and those who have worked there, ahead of its renovation. The program, led by artistic director of Laterna magika, Radim Vizváry, will take place from 10:00 AM to midnight in Václav Havel Square, in operational building B, and in the interiors of the New Stage. ND artists will perform, a music program with DJs will take place in the Nona café, and there will be activities for children and guided tours. ND spokesman Tomáš Staněk informed ČTK about this.

ND in Prague has announced a call for tenders for the contractor for a major renovation of the two buildings of the New Stage. Construction is expected to start in the autumn and will last for two years. The investor for the renovation is ND, with the maximum estimated investment costs being 2.3 billion crowns including VAT.

"The theater hall of the New Stage was traditionally used by Laterna magika, but it also served other ensembles of the National Theatre, primarily for drama. In accordance with its modern architectural solution, productions utilizing experimental theatrical forms or those requiring an intimate space and closeness between the audience and the stage were presented there," stated Staněk.

"And because the National Theatre will miss such a theater hall during the renovation, some titles are moving to La Fabrika in Holešovice, where drama performances Privatization and Wernisch and the new Laterna magika piece Pluto will be staged from September. For Valérie and the Week of Wonders and Poe by Laterna magika, interested parties can head to the Estates Theatre," the spokesman added.

While preserving the monumentally protected elements, the New Stage will offer visitors a variable arrangement of the stage and audience in a multifunctional hall with a capacity of up to 500 seats, using modern theatrical technologies and variable acoustics after the renovation. In the adjacent ND building, another intimate theater hall, a rehearsal room, and new facilities with the infrastructure for accompanying educational programs will be created.

A new café will also be established on the ground floor, connecting the theater with Václav Havel Square. Both buildings will undergo significant technological modernization, which will bring substantial energy savings and reductions in operating costs and environmental impact.

The New Stage and Operational Building B were built as part of the expansion of the ND complex during the renovation of the historical building from 1977 to 1983. They are examples of state representative architecture from the early 1980s, distinguished by the use of exclusive materials and designed interiors. In 2021, the New Stage was declared a cultural monument.

Operational Building B served as a restaurant building until the early 1990s, then it was returned to the Roman Union of the Order of St. Ursula during restitution, which sold it to Themos. ND reacquired the building in a public auction in 2018. Currently, the building is in an operationally unsuitable condition and will serve as the theater's background and a space for public and educational events after the renovation.