Where black light theatre began

A trick older than the theatre

Performers dressed in black against a dark space have been used for thousands of years. Wikipedia traces the idea to jugglers performing for the emperor in ancient China, and notes that Japan's Bunraku puppeteers wear black so the audience looks only at the puppet. Accounts of the earliest history differ in their details, but they agree on the basic point: the vanishing assistant is an old stage illusion, long before anyone added ultraviolet light.

From stage trick to avant-garde

In the 20th century the black box trick moved into modern theatre and film. Wikipedia names the Russian director Konstantin Stanislavski and the film pioneer Georges Méliès among those who used it, and the French avant-garde of the 1950s followed, with George Lafaye an early pioneer. These directors used the black cabinet only for a few moments, mostly to make something on stage disappear. The theatre-length version came afterwards.

Jiří Srnec and the modern form

Wikipedia credits the Czech artist Jiří Srnec as the father of modern black light theatre, the author of the principle as it is used today, from the placement of spotlights and UV lamps to the choice of black velvet, and of the name itself. His ensemble gave its first performance in 1959 in Vienna and became better known after the Theatre Festival in Edinburgh in 1962. Czech Radio says the company has since travelled to 68 countries and almost 90 festivals. Srnec lived from 1931 to 2021.

Not the same as Laterna Magika

Visitors often hear black light theatre and Laterna Magika mentioned together. They are different things. Laterna Magika began as a cultural programme at the 1958 Brussels Expo, began its work on 9 May 1959 as a company of the National Theatre, and is known for combining film projection with live performance. Its productions have blended several genres, black theatre among them, but its founding idea is the interaction of screen and stage.

Prague becomes the home of the genre

Prague's national tourist board says the city became the world base of black light theatre after the Velvet Revolution. For many years around ten companies worked here, touring the world as well as playing at home. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the board counts four permanent black light theatres in the city. Prague City Tourism calls the WOW Show the youngest black theatre in the city, and the theatre says it has played in Prague for over 20 years. Its own history page says Czech artists in the 1990s helped establish Prague as the capital of the form.

Why the accounts differ

Sources disagree about firsts. The WOW Show's history page traces black light theatre to a shadow play for a Chinese emperor and names the French artist George Lafaye as the father of the modern form. Wikipedia credits Jiří Srnec with the modern form and its name, and the Srnec theatre calls itself the first black light theatre in the world. Treat each of those as a claim from its own camp. What every account shares is that Prague is where the genre grew into the shape visitors see today.

What this means for a night out today

The technique is shared, but the shows are not the same. Some lean on mime and humour, some on dance and modern music, and some on audience interaction and effects. Prague's tourist board lists four permanent theatres today, and you can book three of them through this site. If you want help choosing between them, the comparison of the bookable shows sets out their length, rooms and styles side by side, so you can match the style to the evening you have in mind.

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