Since Friday afternoon, the building of Prague’s New Stage has been full of people. The National Theater invites them here on the occasion of the double anniversary.
“One hundred years ago, the architect of the building, Karel Prager, was born. And in 1983, the New Stage building opened for the audience for the first time, so this year it celebrates its fortieth anniversary,” explains the theater.
The iconic postmodern building is symbolically recreated here, as a model from a well-known Lego kit. Anyone can join in his creation – passers-by, kit fans, theatergoers or architecture students. And maybe they will meet the actors and actresses from the ensemble themselves over the course of three days.
Lego New Scene model
The Vinohrady Theater will have a new underground stage for 300 spectators
According to the theater, it is a “metaphor of the foundation stones of the historical building of the National Theatre, but indirectly also an imaginary collection ‘penny by penny’ as a collective gesture to build something exceptional, a place for national culture”.
Bets on the first good one
The entire building was designed by Michal Horáček and Marek Mencl, passionate builders who have built buildings using millions of Lego bricks and last year won the Lego Masters Czech and Slovak shows. They personally “supervise” the construction and advise visitors on what and how to build.
“20 to 25 thousand cubes are needed, the whole thing is made up of small pieces, mainly the screens (parts of the building cladding – editor’s note), only about seven thousand cubes fall on them,” explains Mencl.
Building with lego
“We came up with the model together, we each had some ideas about how to do it,” he describes the creation of the idea. “But we didn’t manage to meet and try to build it in training. We are only now trying to implement it. We’ll see if it even works,” he laughs. “Maybe it will work out. It’s made of legos, so we’ll rebuild it somehow,” he takes it sportingly.
It should be finished on Sunday at 4 pm. “The structure will then remain here in the building, it will go to the foyer and it will probably be exhibited,” adds Horáček about its fate.
Actor and member of the National Theater Drama Robert Mikluš also came to see the work on the miniature on Saturday afternoon.
Actor Robert Mikluš at the event
He also tried another activity that is prepared here for visitors – assembling a colored heart from a kit. “You can have it as a necklace or a Christmas tree decoration,” suggests one of the organizers of the event.
The program of the three-day celebrations of the New Stage also includes a dance party, tours of the building, and performances by the Laterna Magica dancers. The Sunday stage concert of Tyl’s play Strakonický bagpiper will complete the show. The play was not chosen by chance – it was precisely with this piece that the scene began its artistic operation forty years ago.
The construction aroused passions
Prager’s building with an iconic glass facade designed by Stanislav Libenský already aroused passion at the time of its creation, and not only by its external appearance. For example, it quickly became clear that the variable interior had a number of shortcomings.
The historic building of the National Theater and the New Stage
At present, the audience can watch performances of the Laterna Magic, drama, ballet, opera and other projects here. In 2021, the Ministry of Culture declared the building a cultural monument.
A total reconstruction is planned, according to the management of the theater, the Nová scéna absolutely needs it. It should cost around two billion crowns. A theater stage with a variable layout of the hall space should be created for various performances with a capacity of up to 500 seats.
The new stage of the National Theater is provocative. But she does not suppress her surroundings, says the architect
2023-11-25 15:27:19
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