I am a terrible blogger.  I experience something fun and have the best intentions to write it up for this blog but then I get busy (mostly just busy work) and procrastinate until the enthusiasm has passed and writer’s block sets in.

So this post is going to be short so that I can get it up while its hot.  Though today is the last day for this particular festival the point is that the alert traveler can nearly always find interesting activity in larger towns and cities.

We had heard mention of the International Street Theatre Festival taking place at Wenceslas Square but didn’t get around to looking at the program until it was half over.  Thursday looked like a good day for us so we chose this description:  “A strange boat appears on the horizon, it seems to be some sort of sailboat. On board, five special characters are forming an eclectic crew! A romantic Russian Captain, a bearded Ballet Dancer, a naive Mariners Eye, a Swiss Machinist and a mystical Fakir. It is once on shore that the story begins.”  Presented by Zirk Mir, a Norway theatre troupe that designed the show for international audiences so that language would not be a barrier.

Free street performances are not always easy to see and certainly not always good entertainment.  This time our expectations were exceeded on both counts.  Parts of the performance are exceedingly silly and slapstick but that just serves to build the audience participation and set the mood for those parts that displayed true talent.  All in all it was fast-moving, funny and well worth the standing ovation at the end–after all 90% of the audience was standing for the whole show.

After the show we strolled down the broad street of Na prikope’ and walked into a maze of painted bricks.  You never know what you will find when you are not looking, or more accurately not staying home.

All photos by Karin  —  click to enlarge