This November, Czech Theater opens its 2025/2026 season, bearing the theme of Death, with a bold and haunting production of Kytice: A Bouquet of Czech Folktales, based on the timeless ballads of Karel Jaromír Erben. For the first time, Erben’s poems will be performed on stage in English, premiering on 29 November at the Vesna Women’s Association on Údolní.
Erben’s Kytice z pověstí národních was first published in 1853. It is a pillar of Czech literature and one of the most read books in the Czech Republic to this day. It was inspired by oral tradition, and relies on folklore, myth, and the supernatural while addressing deeply human topics like interpersonal relationships, guilt, punishment, and death, often with women in the forefront.
This production of Kytice offers a rare chance to connect with Czech history and culture in a way that is welcoming and accessible to audiences of all backgrounds, Czech or international. The play is a theatrical journey through love, grief, and terror, filled with mystical beings, worried mothers, and cheerful maidens.
By coming to see the play, the audience is also supporting the local performers and creators who help keep Brno’s cultural scene and community going. In addition, a portion of the ticket sales goes toward supporting Spolek Vesna, a long-standing Brno community organization that provides educational programs, social support, and runs a re-use initiative distributing clothing, toys, and other household goods for families in need.
This production of Kytice is based on the English translation by Susan Reynolds, published by Jantar Publishing. Czech Theater’s Lenka Koudelková and Inês Ribas Johnson adapted seven of the original 13 ballads for the stage, keeping the original poetical form. The whimsical and mysterious atmosphere is completed with original music by Klaus E. Gjika and Kein Ribas Johnson, and costumes and set design by Ines Jahůdková.
Czech Theater is a Brno-based amateur multicultural community theatre founded in 2018 with the goal of making Czech theatre accessible to the non-Czech speaking community and also giving Czechs the opportunity to see their own culture through a different lens. This production was made possible thanks to the cast and crew of 10 different nationalities.
Kytice opens on 29 November 2025 at Vesna on Údolní 10. Tickets are available via Smsticket.cz.
