The Ungelt Theatre in Prague will celebrate its thirtieth anniversary on 2 October 2025. And it was in this jubilee year, a year before its eightieth anniversary, that its founder and principal Milan Hein decided to pass on the baton. A decision that others would have postponed, Hein made with grace and a clear goal: to leave on time, with a clean slate and his professional dreams fulfilled.
"You're supposed to know when to leave and not wait to be reminded," he said, adding that he had handed the theatre over to the most competent hands - his long-time partner in life and work, Martin Šimek, has become the theatre's operating director and is the future owner of the theatre, while dramaturg and director Pavel Ondruch has become the artistic director of Ungelt. Hein himself remains a principal emeritus, and as an actor, he's finished playing in two shows that audiences love, so he expects it won't end right away. A thieving comedy drama Violin, where he plays with J. Langmajer and P. Liška, has been in the repertoire for five years and will soon have its 150th reprise. In the tragicomedy Old Masters Hein plays alongside František Němec, whom he says is the best Czech actor.
Ungelt Theatre - Stone Stage
Milan Hein came up with the idea for his own theatre in 1995, when he was still moving between regional stages and performing with his sister, the TV presenter Marta Skarlandt, in original performances all over the country. He found a magical place in the centre of Prague, a courtyard surrounded by medieval walls where customs duties were once collected - the so-called Ungelt - and named his theatre, located in the cellars of a 14th century house, after this place. He admits that he knew nothing about the business at the time, and was emboldened by his friend, the actor Miloš Kopecký, who told him: "Milan, one day you will be a good principal and the Ungelt will be a good theatre, but you have to commit yourself fully to it. Just play occasionally. There are plenty of actors, but there are only a few good principals."
Hein earned the money for the reconstruction of the premises thanks to his successful book of interviews with Miloš Kopecký What was it worth, but unfortunately Kopecký did not play in the theatre anymore, he died in February 1996. He donated his favourite swivel chair to the theatre for the opening. It is located in the theatre club, as well as many other chairs donated by sponsors and well-known personalities of Czech public life.
Over the course of thirty years, countless acting stars have passed through Ungelt and the repertoire has included not only Czech novelties but also Czech premieres of world productions. Hein has always taken pride in close contact with the audience and in maintaining the intimate atmosphere. "We never wanted to be a performance factory. Every piece has a reason for being on stage." And it paid off, the prestige of the theatre, which can accommodate less than a hundred spectators, grew. Over the years, almost ninety premieres have taken place here and the theatre has won four Thalia Awards, the second best result after the National Theatre.
Summer scene - open-air theatre
Exactly ten years after the opening of the Stone Stage, another idea came to him - to use the magic of summer evenings and play in the abandoned garden in Hradčany's Nový Svět under Loreta, which Hein was looking at from the window of his apartment. And so, in 2005, the Ungelt Summer Stage was created. At the time, it was a novelty that audiences were still getting used to, but it quickly became a popular summer play tradition. Even outdoors, audiences enjoyed what they love about Ungelt - the closeness of the actors, the civil acting and the stories that engage. "I've always wanted the viewer to feel like they're visiting friends - except instead of coffee, they get a strong story and an acting gig," Hein once described the philosophy of his theatre.
Innovation and challenges
Running a private theatre without a permanent ensemble but with strong actors has not always been easy - Hein himself says he was not only the director, but also the dramaturge, the actor, and sometimes the cleaner and prop man when needed. But he was used to fighting; after all, it was not for nothing that he won the title of Moravian boxing champion in his youth. He fought for his theatre even during the pandemic of covid, which forcibly interrupted its operation. The grateful audience, the actors and the introduction of a series of theatre broadcasts on the networks helped a lot. It was also during this time that the Summer Stage underwent a major renovation, gaining new facilities and a covered auditorium.
Today, the theatre is returning the good deeds and spreading them further, helping, for example, the Paraple Centre, to which it donated one hundred percent of the entrance fee from the June performance of the tragicomedy Deuce on the Summer Stage.
For many viewers, Hein's departure from the theatre's management marks the end of an era. He says he has achieved his professional goals and now looks forward to finally "in the auditorium he sits on the other side of the lights". It will be a new role of a lifetime for him - this time without the responsibility for the whole theatre, but with the joy of what has been created.
He sees the handover of the management to his partner 30 years younger than him, with whom he has lived for 17 years, as a logical outcome - Martin Šimek has been present at all the important moments of the theatre and has shared with him not only the successes but also the difficult moments. In this context, Milan Hein has one more private wish. He would like to live to see marriage for all allowed in our country and would like to enter into that marriage with his partner.
divadloungelt.cz / gnews.cz - Jana Černá
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