Václav Havel, the first Czechoslovak president after the fall of communism in 1989 and later the first president of the Czech Republic, would have turned 90 today.
Havel considered the 1993 dissolution of Czechoslovakia his greatest political failure. According to his former adviser Michael Žantovský, Havel regarded his inability to persuade politicians in both Czechia and Slovakia to prevent the split as a personal failure.
To mark the anniversary, Prague has organised a series of cultural events celebrating the life and legacy of the renowned Czech playwright, dissident and statesman, who became the last president of Czechoslovakia and the first president of the Czech Republic.
Havel’s influential essay The Power of the Powerless has also inspired a new play of the same name. Performed by young Czech and Slovak amateur actors, the production explores how a new generation seeks to find its voice in today’s world.
The play is a co-production of the National Theatre (ND) in Prague and the Slovak National Theatre (SND). It will have its Slovak premiere on October 8 and 9.
Source: STVR, TASR
