Klicpera's Theatre, Cultural monument and theatre in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
Klicpera's Theatre is a drama theatre in the centre of Hradec Králové, housed in a late 19th-century building with a classical facade. Inside, the venue holds several performance spaces that can accommodate productions of different scales, from main-stage shows to smaller studio works.
The city council decided in 1882 to build a municipal theatre under the name Klicperovo, and the architect Viktor Weinhengst designed it. It opened on 24 March 1885 with Klicpera's Eliška Přemyslovna and Smetana's Hubička; cracks appeared within a year and the western wing collapsed, so it was rebuilt and reopened in November 1887. Renamed Divadlo Vítězného února from 1961 to 1968 and again from 1971 to 1990, it has borne the name Klicperovo divadlo since 1990.
The theatre is named after Václav Kliment Klicpera, a Czech playwright who was born not far from Hradec Králové and whose comedies helped shape modern Czech drama. Today the stage presents a mix of classical plays and newer works, and the house remains a central meeting point for theatregoers from across the region.
Performances usually take place in the evening, so arriving a little early gives you time to look around the building before the show begins. The theatre sits in the city centre and is easy to reach on foot from the main square.
The theatre's foyer and entrance hall serve as a gallery: by mid-2009, 112 exhibitions by 92 artists had been shown there. The building has been listed as a Czech cultural monument since 1958.
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