- Condition: **
- Year: 2019-10-23
Ooutlines of figures representing the forms and persons characteristic of the Semafor theatre.
Semafor is a Prague-based theatre established in 1959 by a group of actors, singers, musicians, and artists, headed by Jiří Suchý and Jiří Šlitr. The name is an acronym for the Czech SEdm MAlých FORem, or a theatre of seven small stages. The founders intended it to cover multiple art genres, such as musical comedy, poetry, jazz, film, graphic art, dance, puppet shows. The opening production was a musical comedy, Člověk z půdy, written and composed by Jiří Suchý and Jiří Šlitr and first performed on 30 October 1959. The Semafor group also included Waldemar Matuška, Karel Štědrý, Pavlína Filipovská, Václav Štekl, and other artists. Many of Semafor’s songs, such as Pramínek vlasů, Včera neděle byla, Malé kotě, Hluboká vráska, and Marnivá sestřenice, became instant hits. Jiří Grossmann and Miloslav Šimek joined the theatre in 1967. The two were another popular couple with a somewhat different kind of art and humour, best known for the legendary show Návštěvní dny consisting of comedy sketches, songs, witty stories. Several years after Jiří Šlitr’s death in 1969, Jiří Suchý was joined by talented musician and artist Jitka Molavcová. The newly formed couple has adopted a style of humour similar to Suchý and Šlitr’s style.