Former president and playwright to attend US-premiere of his play

Former Czech president and esteemed playwright Václav Havel is to attend the US premiere of his latest play “Leaving” at Philadelphia’s Wilma Theater with his wife Dagmar on Thursday night. The male lead is played by Oscar-nominated actor David Strathairn, the general director of the theater, Jiří Žižka, is directing the play. Mr Žižka says he first became interested in theater at the age of 15, after seeing a performance of a play by Václav Havel in Prague. Tickets for the performance have been sold out for several weeks, the theater is considered one of the city’s best. Mr. Havel will be returning to the Czech Republic after the premiere.