ALFA Theatre will perform at EXPO 2025 with a Czech-Japanese play about Věra Čáslavská
Pilsen puppet theatre ALFA will return to Japan this August to perform at the World EXPO 2025 in Osaka. The theatre has visited Japan repeatedly in recent years. From last year’s collaboration with Tokyo’s PUK Theatre came the production Čáslavská – Tokyo 1964. 'The play about Czechoslovak gymnast Věra Čáslavská and her Olympic triumphs in Japan will also be presented at the EXPO,' says ALFA Theatre director Jakub Hora.
Pilsen ALFA Theatre and Tokyo’s PUK Theatre will perform twice at the World EXPO 2025 in Osaka on August 18, in the EXPO’s largest venue, the Shining Hat Hall, which seats up to 1,900 people. According to ALFA’s director Jakub Hora, it will be the largest audience the theatre has ever performed for. “We’ll be showcasing not only Czech puppetry, but also the puppetry tradition of the city of Pilsen and the Pilsen Region,” he said.
During their stay in Japan, the production will also be presented at the country’s largest puppetry festival, the Iida Puppet Festa, and other venues.
The play Čáslavská – Tokyo 1964 uses puppetry and lightly fictionalized storytelling to recall the 1964 Olympics and the achievements of Věra Čáslavská, as well as her friendship with Japanese gymnastics champion Yukio Endo. According to Hora, the production has already won two awards in the Czech Republic and has been invited to several international festivals. It premiered in Tokyo in August last year and in Pilsen in September. “The theme resonates especially with those who remember the Olympics, but the story is universal—it’s about courage and the belief that if you truly want something, you can achieve it,” Hora added.
The Czech cultural program has been a success at EXPO. In the first two months, over 150 performances took place in the Czech National Pavilion, featuring dozens of artists and attracting more than 20,000 enthusiastic visitors. “This is the largest showcase of Czech culture abroad this year, and the biggest presentation of Czech culture at any World EXPO,” said Přemysl Pela, Program Director of the Czech participation at EXPO 2025.
EXPO 2025 runs from April to October 13, 2025, with participation from 158 countries and seven international organizations.
Source: Czech News Agency, author’s adaptations
About the Czech National Pavilion at EXPO 2025
Czechia will be participating in a World EXPO as an independent country for the sixth time. Since September 2022, the role of Commissioner General has been held by Ondřej Soška. The pavilion’s design – a glass spiral – was selected through an open architectural competition, which was won in March 2023 by Apropos Architects. The main structure is made of modern CLT wooden panels, while the façade features artistic glass, drawing on a centuries-old Czech tradition. The national pavilion provides a dignified setting for Czechia’s presence at EXPO 2025, which will take place from April to October 2025 on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay. Inside, the pavilion features a permanent exhibition, the multifunctional Daisue Hall auditorium, business meeting facilities, a restaurant, the CTP Lounge, and a seaside relaxation zone open to visitors in front of the building. Cultural performances take place almost every weekend from Friday to Sunday. The pavilion was officially approved for use in early April 2025 and stands as the largest wooden structure of its kind in Japan without a metal supporting frame. It officially opened to the public on April 13, 2025.