TicketsInternational Festival of Contemporary Circus and Theatre
Since its very beginning, the festival has presented the crème de la crème of international contemporary circus. It also systematically supports the local circus scene and has helped numerous artists enter the world of circus tents.
Letní Letná 2024
Letní Letná 2024
The 21st edition of the International Festival of Contemporary Circus and Theatre Letní Letná Prague brought a pleasant circus atmosphere to Letenské sady again at the end of summer. The festival took place from 14 August, when it was inaugurated, until 1 September. During the 19 days, a total of 254 performances took place, 59 of which were performed by foreign stars, 19 performances took place in the Czech Tent, 156 performances were scheduled for children or families with children, and 16 events took place outdoors free of charge for festival visitors. The audience could see performers from 9 countries (France, Taiwan, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, Norway, Ireland, Lithuania and Croatia). In total, Letní Letná attracted 65,000 spectators, of which 3,000 saw the opening ceremony.
Although this year's opening ceremony was not as spectacular as last year's, the anniversary one, the show of the French Akoreacro Arrêt d'urgence completely absorbed the Letná spectators and at the end they received endless applause. But what the Letní Letná festival picked up again was the international co-production of contemporary circus projects under the banner of Cirk Together. A joint project of the French ensemble Cirque Aïtal and eight Czech performers, after an intensive, three-phase rehearsal, brought the premiere of the show She is not me. This production was performed twice at the festival in an outdoor space and was seen by a total of 2,000 spectators.
The international programme
The international stars of the 21st edition brought a wide variety of productions. Each different, both in theme and concept. The French Cirque Le Roux performed at Letní Letná for the third time and once again arrived with a breathtaking production with perfect acrobatics and an incredible visual spectacle called Entre Chiens et Louves.
Other guests who have already performed at the Letná festival in the past were Cirque Inextremiste, but this time they brought the Prague audience to show the show PIC, which they created in collaboration with the 18-member Surnatural Orchestra.
Les Rois Vagabonds also came from France and lit up the marquee number 3 with their Concerto pour deux Clowns. Although it was a performance with a small cast, they amazed the audience so much that they were given a standing ovation each night.
The fourth foreign star of the Letní Letná Festival was the Taiwanese troupe Eye Catching Circus, who performed not only precise acrobatics, but most importantly, a testimony of Taiwanese acrobats under 30 years old about what it is like to be a woman in their country.
The Czech programme
The Czech Tent welcomed foreign guests this year and hosted an anniversary celebration. The celebrators were the Losers Cirque Company and Cirk La Putyka. Losers Cirque Company, who had their first premiere exactly 10 years ago at Letní Letná, gave a special performance made up of excerpts from all the productions they have created in those 10 years and this year they also performed two more shows. The second birthday celebrator, Cirk La Putyka, performed their first show La Putyka again in the Czech Tent after exactly 15 years. There were also foreign guests – Accademia Dimitri, a university of performing arts where the most famous Czech performers were trained, and Vivan Fridrich, a German artist with Czech roots. The Czech Tent also hosted two premieres, ONtestosterON with a purely male theme by the Ostrava groups Feel the Universe and BoCirk, and the other with a completely female theme in the premiere of Ivana Kolcunová's PřistiŽENA.
Also, this year, the Letní Letná festival presented many performances for children of different ages, but also for the whole family. After last year's success, Cirko Hopley again presented its Teacrobat twice a day and family shows were also performed in the Czech Tent, but especially in the free open-air space. Letní Letná once again brought a varied contemporary circus programme, which included not only foreign stars, but also the best Czech troupes and individual performers. As every year, the circus town was full of visitors of all generations and interests. The festival attracts spectators with its unique atmosphere and friendly face.
When we were starting out, I frankly believed that contemporary circus was beautiful, free-minded, romantic, creative and exciting. I believed that it had a future and that it made sense to let the public know. And I am confident this still applies!
The Letní Letná festival has celebrated its 15th birthday. Since its creation it has taught Czechs to love circus artists.
Prague's Letní Letná festival brings international and Czech acts which inspire the audience to create their own definitions of contemporary circus. And every year, these definitions are challenged.
Contemporary circus is a widely accessible genre, which makes it an easy starting point. Yet, disregarding the criterion of quality may be equally harmful in this field as in any other. Looking back at the thirteen editions of Letní Letná, there is no single item that wouldn’t reach the quality bar. A unique phenomenon, indeed.
Since 2015 Letní Letná has held the EFFE label – Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe. The label was created by European Festivals Association. In total 23 Czech festivals received it for period 2024 - 2025.
