Divadlo Viola, Chamber theatre in Prague, Czech Republic

Divadlo Viola is a chamber theatre in Prague's Old Town, housed in the courtyard of the Art Nouveau building at Národní třída 7, designed by Osvald Polívka in 1906–1907 for an insurance company. The hall seats 80 people at café-style tables.

The Art Nouveau building on Národní třída was rebuilt in 1906–1907 for an insurance company by architect Osvald Polívka. In 1963 Jiří Ostermann opened the Poetická vinárna Viola in its small wine bar, and the first programme, Komu patří jazz, premiered on 22 July 1963. Vladimír Justl led it from 1965 to 1992, when the literary cabaret became Divadlo Viola.

The name comes from the small wine bar Karel Majer offered Jiří Ostermann in 1963, where a violinist once played beneath a large canvas panorama of Hradčany. The opening programme, Komu patří jazz, set verses by Ginsberg, Ferlinghetti and Voznesensky to jazz and ran to 100 performances. Allen Ginsberg visited during his 1965 Prague stay.

The hall seats 80 and sits in the courtyard of the former insurance building on Národní třída, so allow time to find the entrance off the street. The interior was restored in 1988; seating is at tables rather than in rows.

The theatre uses an innovative setup where audience members sit at numbered tables while functioning as cafe patrons at the same time. This arrangement creates an unusual closeness between spectators and performers that breaks from traditional theatre format.