Czech for Foreigners as Theatre

This past semester, we had the pleasure of organizing a theatre seminar with Dr. Ilona Starý Kořánová and Martina Krátká. The collaboration between our department and the two lecturers was arranged by our colleague Kamila Linková, to whom we owe special thanks.

The seminar's participants were researchers, mostly from the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, who are learning Czech. Under the guidance of both lecturers, they rehearsed a play titled V baru ("At the Bar"), which they performed to great success on the evening of June 12 in an improvised "theatre" at our premises in Ládví. The collaboration proved remarkably inspiring, with the roles of teacher and learner constantly shifting throughout. The result is a production that reflects not only the participants' hard work, but above all their sense of humour and willingness to laugh at themselves.

An amateur recording of the performance is available on YouTube. Made without any technical or post-production polish, it still comes across as attractive and authentic, largely thanks to the performers themselves, who prove that science and theatre have more in common than one might think. Both Czech and English subtitles are included, for participants in our language courses as well as other foreign learners of Czech. Both lecturers and all the performers deserve heartfelt thanks for their wonderful work and an unforgettable experience!