Original Black Light Theatre Show Tickets Prague

The original Czech black light theatre

Black light theatre is a Prague invention. In the technique, the stage is a black box lit by ultraviolet lamps: performers in black velvet are invisible, while anything painted or dressed in fluorescent colours glows and seems to move by itself, so a hat can walk, a scarf can fly and a figure can split in two. The theatre you visit was founded in 1961 as the first permanent company of this kind in the world, and it has toured internationally for decades while keeping its stage in Prague.

The company works from a venue on Národní street in Prague 1, a historic hall in the New Town a few steps from the river and the National Theatre. Seeing a black light theatre show in Prague has become one of the classic evening activities in the city, and this is the original house rather than one of the imitations that opened later.

The Antologia show

Antologia is an anthology: a sequence of the company's most popular scenes assembled into one 90-minute evening. Short episodes follow each other without dialogue: a man's clothes rebel against him, a street lamp becomes a dangerous rival, animals turn out to be smarter than the people around them, and dancers merge with floating shapes and colours. Humour runs through it all, and the music carries the rhythm from scene to scene.

Because nothing is spoken, the show works equally for Arabic, English or any other speakers, and children follow it as easily as adults. The craft is in the timing: performers you never see are moving every object with precision in total darkness. Many visitors say it is the most surprising thing they saw in Prague, which is why it is often searched as a family show in Prague or a non-verbal show in Prague.

Your visit: arrival, seating and duration

The performance starts at 20:00 and lasts about 90 minutes. Go directly to the theatre on Národní street and show the ticket from your confirmation at the entrance; arrive 20 to 30 minutes early to find your seat, as the hall darkens completely once the show begins and late entry disturbs the effect. There is no dress code, and photography during the performance is not allowed because any light breaks the illusion.

The theatre is small by design so that every seat is close to the stage, and the darkness makes it best to keep phones switched off. Smoking is not allowed in the building. The show is suitable for all ages, with child tickets for ages 3 to 17; very small children should be able to sit quietly in the dark for an hour and a half.

Národní street and the New Town around the theatre

Národní street runs from Wenceslas Square down to the Vltava, and the theatre sits in the middle of it, about five minutes on foot from the square and the Můstek metro station and two minutes from the Národní třída stop on metro line B and the trams. At the river end stands the National Theatre, the golden-roofed neo-Renaissance landmark opened in 1881 and rebuilt after a fire two years later, with the Legion Bridge and the view of the castle beside it.

Before the show the embankment is a good place for a sunset walk, and after it the Old Town and Wenceslas Square are both within ten minutes for dinner. If you want to make an evening of it, the theatre fits well after a late-afternoon river cruise or a walk across Charles Bridge, both of which end close to Národní street.