In the Spejbl and Hurvínek Theatre, an extension with a new stage could be created

Prague – The management of the Prague Theater Spejbla and Hurvinek would like to expand its facilities with an extension for a new stage. This was stated by the theater's director, Denisa Kirschnerová, at today's meeting of the cultural committee of the Prague City Council. Currently, they have one theater hall in a building owned by Prague 6 on Dejvická Street, which according to the director complicates further development of the theater.

According to the director, the theater is addressing space issues, especially in connection with organizing smaller events and workshops, as well as ensuring rehearsals. "We only have one hall available and use the anteroom or foyer for accompanying activities," she said. She added that they have already approached an architectural studio regarding the possibility of developing a feasibility study for the extension and are negotiating this with Prague 6.

The meeting was confirmed by the deputy mayor of the sixth district, Jan Lacina (STAN). "We met with the management of the Theater Spejbla and Hurvinek and opened up the possibility of expanding the premises with a smaller theater stage, which is often lacking for the theater in regular operations. We are relatively fresh in this regard because we have been preparing a significant expansion of the audience area and also the facilities of the Dejvické theater for some time, so we have quite a bit of experience with the preparatory process," he told ČTK.

The expansion is expected to take the form of an extension into the courtyard of the building. Artistic director David Janošek added that the theater has so far prepared one or a maximum of two productions per year, which is relatively little. "I would really like us to manage to expand a bit further," he added, noting that the current facilities do not fully allow for this.

Janošek, who took up the position of artistic director last July, added that due to the age of some ensemble members, the theater needs to start looking for new puppeteers. At the same time, he would like to open the stage more to cooperation with puppeteers from across the country.

The Theater Spejbla and Hurvinek was founded in 1930. Before that, the author of the first puppets, Josef Skupa, only operated on the amateur scene. Over time, the theater expanded to include three other characters, Mánička, the granny, and the dog Žeryk, and several voices and authors have replaced them. During its existence, the characters Spejbl and Hurvínek have appeared in 34 countries. Among the theater's accolades is the Thalia Award for lifetime achievement in the field of puppet theater.