Prague black light shows compared

Four theatres, three bookings

Prague's national tourist board says the city has four permanent black light theatres today, after many years with around ten companies. Three of them can be booked through the links on this site: the WOW Show, the Srnec theatre and HILT. All three are wordless, so language decides nothing. What does decide is how long you want to sit in the dark, which kind of room you prefer and how much you want to be part of the show. Their ratings are close: 4.0 for the WOW Show, 4.0 for Srnec and 3.7 for HILT.

The WOW Show: interactive, on a shopping street

The WOW Show plays at Theatre Broadway, inside a passage on Na Příkopě, a pedestrian shopping street. It runs 65 minutes with no intermission, and the seats are not numbered. The theatre describes a 4D show with effects that reach into the audience, and it welcomes participation. Guests mention dancers, acrobats and a story that can lose its thread. The booking is marked wheelchair accessible.

Srnec: the mime-based classic

The Srnec theatre performs Antología at Národní 20 and runs for about 1.5 hours. The show is mime-based, with witty humour, dance and black light skills, and it is entirely non-verbal, with music playing throughout. Objects come to life and animals misbehave while they dance. The theatre bills itself as the first black light theatre of its kind in the world, and Czech Radio reports that its company became an international success at the Edinburgh Festival in 1962. Some guests say the entrance is hard to find, so allow extra time to locate it.

HILT: a small underground hall

HILT plays at Řetězová 7 in a 15th-century underground hall with only 50 seats, and the show runs 70 minutes. It opens with a short film about the theatre's story, followed by a non-verbal show set to well-known music and with audience interaction. The theatre says it isn't for lovers of classic theatre. It isn't suitable for children under 6, people with claustrophobia or people with epilepsy, and you can't enter once the show has started. Guests like the historic setting, and some say the small room could do with better ventilation.

How to choose

Choose by the evening you want. Pick the WOW Show for a lively, interactive spectacle that suits a mixed group of ages. Pick Srnec for a classic mime-led performance with humour and dance, and for a longer evening of about 1.5 hours. Pick HILT for a small, close room with modern music, if no one in your party is under 6 or bothered by enclosed spaces. If your group includes a wheelchair user, note that only the WOW Show booking is marked wheelchair accessible among these three.

• WOW Show: interactive, 65 minutes, unnumbered seats
• Srnec: mime, dance and humour, about 1.5 hours
• HILT: underground hall, 50 seats, 70 minutes

Booking terms are alike

Each booking is refunded in full if cancelled a day ahead, and each lets you hold a date now and pay later. That makes the choice simple: pick the date that fits your trip, then the show that is on that evening. Check each booking calendar, because the theatres don't all play the same nights, and the start time differs by date.

Seeing more than one

Because all three use the same technique, a second show is mostly a matter of taste. If you have time for two, the biggest contrast is between the interactive WOW Show and the mime-led Srnec performance, since one leans on effects and audience participation and the other on mime, dance and humour. Book each for a different evening and check the calendars first, because the theatres don't all play on the same nights.