The Josef Kajetán Tyl Theatre is a Plzeň theatre with a repertoire operation, which is performed in this city in several buildings at the same time. Its history extends from the travelling companies at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries to the modern stage opened in 2014. [1]
The beginnings of theatre in Plzeň
German theatre performances are documented in Plzeň already at the end of the 18th century. Czech theatre has been played here since 1818, at first mainly by travelling companies and amateurs. Performances took place in the knights' hall of the so-called German house on the square, in the great hall of the town hall and in several inns, among them U zlatého orla, U arcivévody Ferdinanda and U bílé růže. When these premises ceased to suffice, Mayor Kopecký wanted to adapt the municipal house Stift, between the town hall and the church of St. Bartholomew, for the theatre. The adaptation proved insufficient and the house was demolished in 1829. [1]
The first theatre building
Plzeň has had a dedicated theatre building since 1832, when the town had about 9,040 inhabitants. It was built to designs by Lorenzo Sachetti at the corner of today's Riegrova ulice and sady Pětatřicátníků. The first performance was played there on 12 November 1832, the first Czech one only on 18 January 1835. The building was handed over free of charge for operation to the burghers with brewing rights and since 1857 it has again been the property of the municipality. In 1863 it underwent alterations, and in 1867 the municipality bought the neighbouring house, which began to serve the needs of the theatre. [1]
Other stages
For the German minority a German theatre was established in 1869 in Goethova ulice, called the Malé divadlo. Performances were held in it until 1965, when operetta and drama moved to the Komorní divadlo, created by adapting a cinema hall. Since 1869 repertoire theatre has thus been played in Plzeň in parallel in two buildings. [1]
In 1890 Plzeň had 50,221 inhabitants and the old building no longer met the needs of the town. The construction of a new theatre was included in plans in 1894 to 1895, the permit was issued in January 1899 and the Velké divadlo was ceremonially opened in September 1902. The old building was closed on 26 March 1902 by a performance of The Bartered Bride. [1]
The Komorní divadlo and the Nové divadlo
The Komorní divadlo came into being in 1965 through the conversion of the former Univerzita cinema, built at the end of the 1930s. Operating difficulties were partly to be solved by a provisional extension opened in April 1980, in which, besides rehearsal rooms and a ballet and choir hall, a new studio stage was created in the Klub. Already at the end of the 1990s the town had to deal with the necessary reconstruction of the unsuitable Komorní divadlo and its extension. The construction of a new building, whose realisation the Plzeň town council approved in March 2012, soon began to prevail as the more practical solution. Operation in the Nové divadlo began at the start of the 2014/2015 season. [1]