Farm in the Cave

International theatre studio Farm in the Cave creates in Prague; it's registered as NGO (z.s.). Our focus is on the creation, development, and research of human expression.

The company’s modern works go beyond the borders of physical, dance, or musical theater. Farm in the Cave’s performances arise out of their long-term research which is focused on the transmission of human experience beyond words and limits of ordinary understanding. They find this for example in the legacies of minority cultures, music, physical expression, atmospheres, and facts connected with specific locations. In their performances the personal and social views of the world confront one another, and there are strong shared experiences between the performers and spectators.

In addition to their performances, site-specific projects, concerts, cultural research, and theater events, Farm in the Cave also engages in educational activities. The company collaborates with theater academies in the Czech Republic and abroad. They also regularly organize workshops in their studio in Prague, where each year students from all over the world participate. They also teach workshops as part of festivals or at the invitation of theater universities. For selected young theater makers the company offers the opportunity to participate in its long-term educational program in the form of internships. Company members are experienced teachers with university degrees (PhDs).

The company has established itself as a “modern laboratory” where performers have “asylum” to continuously work on their development without regard to their nationality (as varied as Czech Republic, Spain, Vietnam, Germany, Korea, Slovakia, Brazil, France, and Russia), and without regard to their previous profession or genres of their work. They discover new ways of working with expression which cannot be developed during one-off projects or in mainstream theaters, and at the same time they are able to reassess their attitude towards themselves and towards their lives.

In its twenty years of existence, the company has represented the Czech Republic at many prestigious festivals, in more than 60 cities, and on three continents.

Farm in the Cave has received numerous international and Czech prizes, among which the most prestigious is the European Prize for New Theatrical Realities for Director Viliam Dočolomanský, who thus became the only Czech recipient of that award.  Other awards include: Total Theater Award; The Grand Prix Golden Laurel Wreath Award; Fringe First Award; Respekt Magazine Prize for Best Dance Performance; Sazka Award for Best Movement Performance; the Grand Prize at Veljka Maricice, etc.

Up to 2010, the company had its base at The Preslova 9 Space in Prague’s Smichov, where in addition to creating and performing their productions they also hosted artists and teachers from abroad. There they also organized the Festival Farma 2007, among many other events. The company had been attempting, in collaboration with Svandovo Theater to convert the space into a residential center. After six years they were forced to leave the building.  

Since 2018, Farm in the Cave took residence at the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art. In addition to regular performances, the company develops its educational and research work towards the wider public in close cooperation with the dramaturgy of the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art.  First performance presented in the DOX⁺ multifunctional space was the world premiere of the international co-production project Refuge in June 2018.