A series of newly commissioned short plays using Vaclav Havel’s character, Ferdinand Vanek, or his relatives and descendants, and placing them in modern scenarios, imaging them in the world of today.
Vanek was based on Havel himself but became a symbol of the dissident movement in Czechoslovakia. He has been used by multiple playwrights, including Tom Stoppard. This year, we have reached out to past collaborators to continue Havel's legacy, in the year of his 90th birthday.
Featured plays by: Maryia Bialkovich (Belarus), Edward Einhorn (USA), Vladislava Fekete (Slovakia), Gabriele Labanauskaite (Lithuania), Natalie Kocab (Czechia), and Norman Manea (Romania).
Directed by: Edward Einhorn (USA) and Stepan Simek (Czechia), with a talkback following.
Performed in English.
Free and open to the public. Suggested donation $15/ticket. Seats are limited, on first-come first-served basis.
ABOUT
The 2026 Spring Staged Readings is part of the Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival – a showcase of contemporary European theater organized each year in New York City. Conceived in 2017 as a shared endeavor of the Vaclav Havel Center and Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association, the festival honors the legacy of Czech playwright, dissident and political thinker Vaclav Havel.
The program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. The festival is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.