Czech Theater, z.s. is a Brno-based amateur community theater that performs Czech plays in English. Over the next two weekends, they will be performing “Professional Foul” by the renowned playwright Tom Stoppard.
Stoppard is best known for “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead”, and also wrote (and won an Oscar for) “Shakespeare in Love”. He is also revered as one of the greatest British playwrights of his generation.
“Yes, he was British,” answered Czech Theater director Anne Johnson. “But he was born in Zlín, and considered himself to be ‘as Czech as Czech can be’ – and so it felt right for Czech Theater to commemorate his recent (December 2025) death by performing at least one of his (four) plays set in and about his native land of Czechoslovakia.”
The play is a story of dons and dissidents, set in 1977. A philosophy professor attends a weekend conference in Prague, where he plans to be “a tiny bit naughty”. When his assumptions about ethics are tested by the political regime of the country, he has to reconsider everything he thought he knew. It is a (mostly) humorous view of what happens when the unstoppable force of stark reality confronts the immovable position of staid morality. So if dons and dissidents, why the sports-themed title?
“A professional foul is when a player deliberately breaks a rule in order to prevent the opposition from scoring,” said Johnson. “We’ve counted, and there are at least six professional fouls in this play – sports stars and academics score against each other, and characters break their own ethical codes to prevent a greater injustice.”
What can we expect from the performances? “Much like our professor, we’ve been through some changes,” said Johnson. “Not being able to use authentic Czech cover songs from 1977 was a particular blow for me, as I think it captures the time so well. But the decision to primarily use atmospheric sounds (running water, a crowded conference hall) and a fairly minimalist set has meant that the performance stays focused on the story and the characters. I like to imagine Tom Stoppard would have wanted it that way.”
Czech Theater performs Tom Stoppard’s “Professional Foul” only four times: evening performances at 7 pm on 23 May (sold out), 24 May, and 30 May, and a matinee performance at 3pm on Sunday, 30 May. Tickets are available through smsticket.cz
