New look for New Stage: “Ice cube” building set for major overhaul
The ice cube-like New Stage of the National Theatre in Prague is to undergo major renovations, its operators announced on Tuesday. An adjacent building will also get an overhaul, and more use will be made of the small plaza linking the complex to the historic National Theatre.
The now protected New Stage of the National Theatre, whose outward appearance is frequently compared to an ice cube, was designed by one of the most distinctive Czech architects of the modern era, Karel Prager.
However, it was completed in 1983 and is no longer fit for purpose, says the director of the National Theatre, Jan Burian.
“All the technologies are old, because it has been more than 40 years. So we will completely reconstruct all technologies, infrastructure and the energy system. The second problem was that they decided in the late 1970s to build a theatre in a building that was originally not orientated for that. They didn’t have enough good technologies or money so they made a lot of compromises, including bad acoustics, including bad orientation of the seats.”
The renovation job should begin early next summer and run for about three years, with a view to a grand reopening in September 2027.
Around CZK 2.3 billion has been earmarked for the project, which reflects its importance, says the Czech minister of arts, Martin Baxa.
“The New Stage was conceived as a key part of the National Theatre but from the very start it brought difficulties. The construction didn’t reach the standards the National Theatre required, and there has been a decades’ long wait for a proper renovation. And we believe that the renovated New Stage will bring very significant, qualitative progress in the work of the National Theatre. So yes, it’s a lot of money, but the results will be with us for decades.”
One element of the overhaul will involve another part of the complex. A second building behind the main New Stage, if one is standing on Národní, will get a new theatre for intimate productions and a ballet rehearsal studio.
It will also include a café that opens on to the concrete plaza connecting the New Stage and the main National Theatre, which was named Václav Havel Square some years ago.
While the New Stage is eye-catching, it is not universally liked by Prague’s residents. National Theatre chief Burian says he found the building a “shock” when it opened in his student days.
“But today I have a lot of friends who come to Prague to see this building, because it is a really very, very strong gesture. And because I am here each day for me it’s a place which I love. Because we have a nice square here, inside, named after Václav Havel, and it could bring a lot of advantages for contemporary arts. Also it’s a very popular place for meetings of students and young people and people who are doing arts.”
