The Ungelt Theatre celebrated its 30th anniversary on October 2, 2025. In 1995, the then-new artistic director, Milan Hein, together with Miloš Kopecký, opened a small, intimate basement space in the Týn Court. Since then, the theatre has staged nearly one hundred premieres and has established itself as one of the leading small-scale theatres in the Czech Republic.

The first theatrical evening featured the play Good Night, Mommy starring Květa Fialová and Jana Brejchová. Shortly after, Simona Stašová brought her unforgettable comedy The Last of the Passionate Lovers. This was followed by A Tempestuous Spring starring Alena Vránová, which earned the first Thálie Award. In subsequent years, legendary productions such as the musical Desire Called Einodis starring Marta Kubišová and Aneta Langerová, The Glass Ceiling starring Táňa Dyková and Jiří Langmajer, the cult classic Rainy Days, and contemporary hits like The Fiddle, Brother, and A Date with a Feminist followed.

On the theatre's website, you can find 30 milestones in its history, charting the journey of the Ungelt from Milan Hein's initial decision to found the theatre to the present day, as well as the new program for the Stone Stage for March to May 2026. In addition to the popular productions, you can also look forward to two exciting premieres.

Switzerland starring Ivana Chýlková and Petr Uhlík will transport you to a world of mystery and suspense. Jiří Dvořák and Jiří Langmajer will invite you to the Wild West for a glass of whisky on the rocks. The second play, titled How Old Is the Moon, was chosen for Jiří Langmajer's 60th birthday.

Switzerland

This psychological thriller by Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith (Ungelt previously staged another of her famous plays, Between Tuesday and Friday, from 2015 to 2018) takes the audience to the home of a famous writer for whom killing is the most enjoyable expression of life. At the end of her life, she is visited in her Swiss voluntary exile by a young admirer... This sets in motion a dangerous game full of manipulation, sharp dialogue, and surprising twists.

The play, which blurs the line between fiction and reality, is inspired by the final phase of the life of writer Patricia Highsmith, the creator of the legendary literary series about the talented killer Tom Ripley. Joanna Murray-Smith has created a captivating variation on Highsmith's psychological detective stories, with all the disturbing elements – knives, daggers, poisons, revolvers, pistols, and, above all, a mysterious tension.

Premiere: March 21st

"We at Ungelt have long admired Ivana Chýlková. We wanted to find a role for her that would showcase her immense talent in a new and unexpected light. Australian playwright Joanna Murray Smith is well-known to Ungelt audiences. From 2015 to 2018, we staged her most famous play, Between Tuesday and Friday, with great success. Switzerland takes a completely different genre path, but it also stands out for its perfectly written dialogue and captivating structure, which takes your breath away with its unexpected twists and tension. The play has had and continues to have enormous international success – currently, a film adaptation is even being prepared with Helen Mirren in the lead role," says dramaturg Pavel Ondruch.

How Old Is the Moon?

The production, penned by American dramatic legend Sam Shepard, will transport audiences to the Wild West. Jiří Langmajer and Jiří Dvořák will portray two lifelong friends whose conversation on the porch of a secluded house gradually reveals old wounds and unspoken grievances, aided by bourbon on the rocks. Shepard's "theatrical western," with its typically dense atmosphere, builds to a confrontation involving a shotgun and offers a raw and poetic perspective on male friendship that endures a difficult trial. *Premiere: May 13th* "In 2017, one of the greatest American playwrights of the 20th century, Sam Shepard, passed away. He lived to be 73 years old and wrote dozens of outstanding plays throughout his career. Despite this, only his most famous works are performed in Czech theaters: *True West*, *A Lie of the Mind*, *Simpatico*, *Buried Child*, and *Fool for Love*. We staged the latter play at Ungelt in 2008, where Vilma Cibulková, Miroslav Etzler, and Martin Štěpánek (alternating with Ladislav Mrkvička) gave outstanding performances. I believe that with Shepard's passing, the time was right to explore the rest of his work. A translation of one of his later plays, *How Old Is the Moon?*, was created specifically for us. This raw and fragile male ballad is the author's swan song. At the end of his career and life, facing the slow dimming of the Moon, he and his characters grapple with the passage of time. A masterpiece by a true master of drama," says dramaturg Pavel Ondruch. You can find the complete program of Kamenná scéna's performances for the spring of 2026 on the website divadloungelt.cz. *Divadloungelt.cz/gnews.cz - HeK*