Petr Lébl
Encyclopedia
Petr Lébl was a Czech theatre director, scenographer
, actor
, designer
and artistic director of the Theatre on the Balustrade
. Lébl is considered one of the most significant personalities of the 20th century Czech theatre.
, and later used his experience in this area on theatre stages.
In 1982, as a high-school student, Lébl attempted to create scenic variations on the theme of the novel Slapstick by Kurt Vonnegut
. The same year, he contacted Vonnegut by letter and received a reply. In 1985 Lébl adapted Slapstick as a theatre play. He directed the play and also performed in the lead role. Coincidentally, Vonnegut visited Prague at that time and attended the performance of Slapstick. According to the Czech translator of Slapstick, Jaroslav Kořán, Vonnegut was deeply impressed by the adaptation and wrote a dedication "to my sister Petr" to the Czech translation of the book. When Lébl asked him why he wrote "to my sister", Vonnegut answered that he already has one brother.
Lébl's amateur theatre was reasonably popular in the second half of 1980s. He met the US ambassador Luers and attended parties organized by the US embassy
, where he met John Updike
, Edward Albee
and William Styron
. In his free time, he worked as a designer of shop windows for the company Textil-oděvy Prague.
As an amateur, Lébl attempted to study at the FAMU
(film and TV school of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
), but he wasn't admitted due to "lack of talent". In 1986 he began to study directing and scenography at the Faculty of Theatre
, however, he didn't finish his studies.
From 1992 up to his death in 1999, Lébl worked as a theatre professional. His first professional theatre experience was a direction in the Theatre Labyrint (1992). A year later, in 1993, he became the artistic director of the Theatre on the Balustrade
. He was 28. Lébl's first theatre direction in the Theatre on the Balustrade, The Maids
by Jean Genet
, won the second place for the best theatre production in the poll of Czech theatre critics. In 1994 he became a pedagogue at the Faculty of Theatre, although he never finished his studies there. In 1995 Lébl received the Czech theatre prize, Alfréd Radok Award
, for the production of The Seagull
by Anton Chekhov
. He gradually became one of the leading personalities of Czech theatre and significantly influenced the face of the Theatre on the Balustrade. During his engagement in the theatre he directed twelve plays, designed stage decorations and programms, organized rehearsals, sometimes he even pasted playbills. His creative and original approach to theatre, absorbing influences from culture, literature, society or politics, repeatedly attracted the attention of theatre critics and public. Two years before his death, in 1997, he received his second Alfréd Radok Award, this time for the production of Chekhov's play Ivanov. The same year, the Israel
i Habima Theatre invited him to a guest production of Cyrano de Bergerac
.
Petr Lébl was known as a sensitive and complicated personality. According to testimonies provided by his colleagues, he suffered from depression and often spoke openly about his suicidal tendencies. He attempted to fight with his depressive disorder, and shortly before his death he visited a psychiatrist
. On 11 December 1999, he hanged himself from the flies of his home stage in the Theatre on the Balustrade. He left a short message on the door of his office: "I'm on the stage". The theatre technicians discovered his body only after the performance of Werner Schwab
's play The Presidents (Die Präsidentinnen) a day later. He was 34.
In a message found after his death, Lébl assigned Czech publicist Radka Denemarková to write a book about him. She worked on it for eight years in Lébl's abandoned flat. In 2008, the book was published under the title Smrt, nebudeš se báti aneb Příběh Petra Lébla (Death, though shall not be afraid alias the Story of Petr Lébl), and a year later it received the Magnesia Litera Award
for Journalism.
In 2009, Lébl was voted the most significant Czech theatre personality of the 1989-2009 period in the poll of the Czech magazine Reflex
.
Lébl as a guest of the Theatre Labyrint
Lébl as a guest of the Theatre on the Balustrade
Lébl as a director of the Theatre on the Balustrade
Lébl as a guest
Scenographer
A scenographer develops the appearance of a stage design, a TV or movie set, a gaming environment, a trade fair exhibition design or a museum experience exhibition design. The term originated in theater...
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, designer
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
and artistic director of the Theatre on the Balustrade
Theatre on the Balustrade
The Theatre on the Balustrade is situated in Prague, Czech republic.The theatre was founded in 1958. Its founders - Helena Philipová, Ivan Vyskočil, Jiří Suchý and Vladimír Vodička named their professional theatre after a street leading from the square to the river...
. Lébl is considered one of the most significant personalities of the 20th century Czech theatre.
Beginnings
Lébl devoted himself to theatre from an early age. At the age of 15 he became a member of the amateur theatre group DOPRAPO (the group was later renamed to Jak se vám jelo and JELO), with which he performed in his first play, Kolotoč splněných přání. He studied at high-school specializing in graphic artsGraphic arts
A type of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of art forms. Graphic art is typically two-dimensional and includes calligraphy, photography, drawing, painting, printmaking, lithography, typography, serigraphy , and bindery. Graphic art also consists of drawn plans and layouts for interior...
, and later used his experience in this area on theatre stages.
In 1982, as a high-school student, Lébl attempted to create scenic variations on the theme of the novel Slapstick by Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
. The same year, he contacted Vonnegut by letter and received a reply. In 1985 Lébl adapted Slapstick as a theatre play. He directed the play and also performed in the lead role. Coincidentally, Vonnegut visited Prague at that time and attended the performance of Slapstick. According to the Czech translator of Slapstick, Jaroslav Kořán, Vonnegut was deeply impressed by the adaptation and wrote a dedication "to my sister Petr" to the Czech translation of the book. When Lébl asked him why he wrote "to my sister", Vonnegut answered that he already has one brother.
Lébl's amateur theatre was reasonably popular in the second half of 1980s. He met the US ambassador Luers and attended parties organized by the US embassy
Embassy of the United States in Prague
The Embassy of the United States to the Czech Republic is located on Vlašská street, in Malá Strana, Prague. It occupies the large Schönborn Palace and possesses an extensive garden...
, where he met John Updike
John Updike
John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
, Edward Albee
Edward Albee
Edward Franklin Albee III is an American playwright who is best known for The Zoo Story , The Sandbox , Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , and a rewrite of the screenplay for the unsuccessful musical version of Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's . His works are considered well-crafted, often...
and William Styron
William Styron
William Clark Styron, Jr. was an American novelist and essayist who won major literary awards for his work.For much of his career, Styron was best known for his novels, which included...
. In his free time, he worked as a designer of shop windows for the company Textil-oděvy Prague.
As an amateur, Lébl attempted to study at the FAMU
Film and TV School of The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
The Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague or FAMU is one of the oldest film schools in Europe. Located in Prague, Czech Republic, FAMU was founded in 1946 as one of three branches of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague...
(film and TV school of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague is a university level school of music, dance, drama, film, TV and multi-media studies.- Faculties :*Film and TV School - FAMU*Music Faculty - HAMU*Theatre Faculty - DAMU-Notable alumni:...
), but he wasn't admitted due to "lack of talent". In 1986 he began to study directing and scenography at the Faculty of Theatre
Faculty of Theatre
The Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague – "A Dynamic Theatre School Offering a Wide Spectrum of Studies in Theatre Creation" - was founded immediately after the Second World War, emerging from the need to educate theatre artists and artistic personalities capable of...
, however, he didn't finish his studies.
Professional career
Theatre on the Balustrade
The Theatre on the Balustrade is situated in Prague, Czech republic.The theatre was founded in 1958. Its founders - Helena Philipová, Ivan Vyskočil, Jiří Suchý and Vladimír Vodička named their professional theatre after a street leading from the square to the river...
. He was 28. Lébl's first theatre direction in the Theatre on the Balustrade, The Maids
The Maids
The Maids is a play by the French dramatist Jean Genet. It was first performed at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in Paris in a production that opened on 17 April 1947, which Louis Jouvet directed...
by Jean Genet
Jean Genet
Jean Genet was a prominent and controversial French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but later took to writing...
, won the second place for the best theatre production in the poll of Czech theatre critics. In 1994 he became a pedagogue at the Faculty of Theatre, although he never finished his studies there. In 1995 Lébl received the Czech theatre prize, Alfréd Radok Award
Alfréd Radok Awards
The Alfréd Radok Awards are presented annually by the Endowment for the Alfréd Radok Awards in collaboration with the Aura–Pont agency and the magazine Svět a Divadlo for achievements in Czech theatre. The prize for Best Performance was first awarded in 1992...
, for the production of The Seagull
The Seagull
The Seagull is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The Seagull was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896...
by Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
. He gradually became one of the leading personalities of Czech theatre and significantly influenced the face of the Theatre on the Balustrade. During his engagement in the theatre he directed twelve plays, designed stage decorations and programms, organized rehearsals, sometimes he even pasted playbills. His creative and original approach to theatre, absorbing influences from culture, literature, society or politics, repeatedly attracted the attention of theatre critics and public. Two years before his death, in 1997, he received his second Alfréd Radok Award, this time for the production of Chekhov's play Ivanov. The same year, the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i Habima Theatre invited him to a guest production of Cyrano de Bergerac
Cyrano de Bergerac (play)
Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. Although there was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, the play bears very scant resemblance to his life....
.
Petr Lébl was known as a sensitive and complicated personality. According to testimonies provided by his colleagues, he suffered from depression and often spoke openly about his suicidal tendencies. He attempted to fight with his depressive disorder, and shortly before his death he visited a psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
. On 11 December 1999, he hanged himself from the flies of his home stage in the Theatre on the Balustrade. He left a short message on the door of his office: "I'm on the stage". The theatre technicians discovered his body only after the performance of Werner Schwab
Werner Schwab
Werner Schwab was an Austrian playwright and visual artist.From 1978 to 1982 he studied sculpture at the Akademie der bildenden Künste in Vienna. During the 1980s he worked as a sculptor and woodcutter....
's play The Presidents (Die Präsidentinnen) a day later. He was 34.
In a message found after his death, Lébl assigned Czech publicist Radka Denemarková to write a book about him. She worked on it for eight years in Lébl's abandoned flat. In 2008, the book was published under the title Smrt, nebudeš se báti aneb Příběh Petra Lébla (Death, though shall not be afraid alias the Story of Petr Lébl), and a year later it received the Magnesia Litera Award
Magnesia Litera
Magnesia Litera is an annual book award held in the Czech Republic since 2002. The prize covers all literary genres in eight genre categories: prose, poetry, children’s book , non-fiction, essay/journalism , translation, publishing achievement, book debut, and the main prize – one of the genre...
for Journalism.
In 2009, Lébl was voted the most significant Czech theatre personality of the 1989-2009 period in the poll of the Czech magazine Reflex
Reflex (magazine)
Reflex is a Czech weekly magazine focusing on political, social and cultural topics. It was founded in 1990 and is currently owned by the Swiss media corporation Ringier. It is one of the Czech Republic's most controversial and widely read social-political magazines; its print circulation of 60,000...
.
Theatre direction
Lébl as a director of the theatre group JELO- Horečka (Slapstick) (1985) – Kurt VonnegutKurt VonnegutKurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
- Tauridus (1986)
- Polepšovna (The Reform School) (1986) – Christian MorgensternChristian MorgensternChristian Otto Josef Wolfgang Morgenstern was a German author and poet from Munich. Morgenstern married Margareta Gosebruch von Liechtenstern on March 7, 1910...
- Had (The Snake) (1987) – Mircea EliadeMircea EliadeMircea Eliade was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day...
- Mata HariMata HariMata Hari was the stage name of Margaretha Geertruida "M'greet" Zelle , a Dutch exotic dancer, courtesan, and accused spy who was executed by firing squad in France under charges of espionage for Germany during World War I.-Early life:Margaretha Geertruida Zelle was born in Leeuwarden, Friesland,...
(1988) - Proměna (The MetamorphosisThe MetamorphosisThe Metamorphosis is a novella by Franz Kafka, first published in 1915. It is often cited as one of the seminal works of short fiction of the 20th century and is widely studied in colleges and universities across the western world...
) (1988) – Franz KafkaFranz KafkaFranz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century... - Zpěvačka Josefína (Josephine the Singer, or the Mouse Folk) (1989) – Franz Kafka
- WeseleThe Wedding (1901 play)The Wedding is a defining work of Polish drama written at the turn of the 20th century by Stanisław Wyspiański. It describes the perils of the national drive toward self-determination following the two unsuccessful uprisings against the Partitions of Poland, in November 1830 and January 1863...
(1989) – Stanisław Wyspiański - Výběrčí (1990)– Milan UhdeMilan UhdeMilan Uhde is a Czech playwright and politician. He is a member of the Civic Democratic Party.Uhde previously worked at a literary journal, but the publication was banned in 1972...
Lébl as a guest of the Theatre Labyrint
- Vojcev (1992) – Egon Tobiáš;
- Fernando Krapp mi napsal dopis (Ferdinand Krapp wrote me a letter) (1992) – Tankred DorstTankred DorstTankred Dorst is a German playwright and storyteller.Tankred Dorst currently lives and works in Munich. His farces, parables, one-act-plays and adaptations are inspired by the theatre of the absurd and the works of Ionesco, Giraudoux and Beckett...
Lébl as a guest of the Theatre on the Balustrade
- Pokojíček (1993) – Jan Antonín Pitínský
Lébl as a director of the Theatre on the Balustrade
- Služky (The MaidsThe MaidsThe Maids is a play by the French dramatist Jean Genet. It was first performed at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in Paris in a production that opened on 17 April 1947, which Louis Jouvet directed...
) (1993) – Jean GenetJean GenetJean Genet was a prominent and controversial French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but later took to writing... - Naši naši furianti (Our Our Swaggerers) (1994) – Ladislav StroupežnickýLadislav StroupežnickýLadislav Stroupežnický was a renowned Czech author, playwright, and dramatist, best known for the frequently staged play Naši furianti.-Life:...
- Racek (The SeagullThe SeagullThe Seagull is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The Seagull was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896...
) – Anton ChekhovAnton ChekhovAnton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
(Alfréd Radok AwardAlfréd Radok AwardsThe Alfréd Radok Awards are presented annually by the Endowment for the Alfréd Radok Awards in collaboration with the Aura–Pont agency and the magazine Svět a Divadlo for achievements in Czech theatre. The prize for Best Performance was first awarded in 1992...
) - Revizor (The Government Inspector) (1995) – Nikolai GogolNikolai GogolNikolai Vasilievich Gogol was a Ukrainian-born Russian dramatist and novelist.Considered by his contemporaries one of the preeminent figures of the natural school of Russian literary realism, later critics have found in Gogol's work a fundamentally romantic sensibility, with strains of Surrealism...
- Hrdina západu (The Playboy of the Western WorldThe Playboy of the Western WorldThe Playboy of the Western World is a three-act play written by Irish playwright John Millington Synge and first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, on January 26, 1907. It is set in Michael James Flaherty's public house in County Mayo during the early 1900s...
) (1995) – John Millington SyngeJohn Millington SyngeEdmund John Millington Synge was an Irish playwright, poet, prose writer, and collector of folklore. He was a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival and was one of the cofounders of the Abbey Theatre... - Cabaret - musical (1995)
- Ivanov – Anton Chekhov (Alfréd Radok Award)
- Matka (Mother) (1997) – Jan Antonín Pitínský
- Wesele (1998);
- Kočičí hra (Catsplay) (1998) – István ÖrkényIstván ÖrkényIstván Örkény was a Hungarian writer. A typical feature of his plays and novels is satiric view and creation of grotesque situations.- Life :...
- Plukovník Pták (1998) – Christo Bojčev
- Strýček Váňa (Uncle VanyaUncle VanyaUncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897 and received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski....
) (1999) – Anton Chekhov
Lébl as a guest
- Cyrano de BergeracCyrano de Bergerac (play)Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. Although there was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, the play bears very scant resemblance to his life....
- Edmond RostandEdmond RostandEdmond Eugène Alexis Rostand was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism, and is best known for his play Cyrano de Bergerac. Rostand's romantic plays provided an alternative to the naturalistic theatre popular during the late nineteenth century...
– Habima Theatre (Israeli National Theatre) (Tel AvivTel AvivTel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
) – 1997 - Braniboři v Čechách (The Brandenburgers in Bohemia) – Bedřich SmetanaBedrich SmetanaBedřich Smetana was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style which became closely identified with his country's aspirations to independent statehood. He is thus widely regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music...
– National Theatre (Prague)National Theatre (Prague)The National Theatre in Prague is known as the Alma Mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art.The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions, with a rich artistic tradition which was created and maintained by the most distinguished...
– 1998
External links
- Magical Petr Lébl - Fresh Film Fest
- Staging works of director Petr Lébl (Abstract)
- Lébl's Ivanov - review at theatre.cz
- Petr Lébl se svými filmy vrátí do Divadla Na zábradlí - České noviny
- Každý čtvrtek se Petr Lébl vrací do Divadla Na zábradlí - Czech Television
- Na Zábradlí startuje retrospektiva televizního Lébla - Týden.cz