Black Light Theatre

(in Czech ern divadlo) or simply Black Theatre, is a theatrical performance style
characterized by the use of black box theatre aumented by black liht illusion! This
form of theatre oriinated from "sia and can be found in many places around the
#orld! $t has become a speciality of %raue, #here many theatres use it!&'(
The distinctive characteristics of )black theatre) are the use of black curtains, a
darkened stae, and )black lihtin) (*+ liht), paired #ith ,uorescent costumes in
order to create intricate visual illusions! This )black cabinet) techni-ue #as used by
.eores /li0s, and by theatre revolutionary 1tanislavsky! The techni-ue, paired
#ith the expressive artistry of dance, mime and acrobatics of the performers is able
to create remarkable spectacles!&2(
Optics
" key principal of Black 3iht Theatre is the inability of the human eye to distinuish
black ob4ects from a black backround! This e5ect results in e5ective invisibility for
any ob4ects not illuminated by the 6black liht6!&2( The second optical principal
behind Black 3iht Theatre is the e5ect of *+ liht on ,uorescent ob4ects! Black
lihts actually emit as much liht as 6normal6 lihts, but at a fre-uency that humans
cannot detect! 7hile most ob4ects either absorb *+ liht or re,ect it back at the
same fre-uency at #hich it came in, ,uorescent ob4ects absorb *+ liht then re8emit
it a loner #avelenth that human eyes can detect!&9( The combined e5ect is that
desiners can make some ob4ects appear as briht as if the room #ere fully lihted,
#hile makin other ob4ects appear as dark as if the room #ere completely dark!
History
The 6black box trick6 of usin performers dressed in black in a dark playin space has
been in use for millennia, startin #ith the 4ulers performin for the emperor in
ancient China!&:( ;apan developed this techni-ue in its Bunraku Theatre by havin
puppeteers #ear black in order to place complete emphasis on the puppet!&<( $n
modern theatre the black box trick has been adopted up by =ussian director
1tanislavski, >lm director .eore /elies, and various ?rench avantarde directors of
the '@<As! "mon these directors, .eore 3afaille became an earlier pioneer of
black cabinet!&2( But all these directors used the simple trick of black cabinet 4ust for
fe# moments durin their performances mostly to make somethin on the stae
disappear! Bo#ever the true father of Black 3iht Theatre, author of the principe of
black cabinet as is used no#adays (placement of spot lihts, placement of uv lihts,
selection of black velvet as the best material to absorb residual liht on the scene!!!)
and even author of the name )Black 3iht Theatre) and so the creator of the 'st
Black 3iht Theatre in the 7orld is /r! ;iri 1rnec! The very >rst performance of the
ensemble, #hich had already brouht international attention, took place in '@<@ in
+ienna! The real debut for the ensemble, ho#ever, #as its participation in the
Theatre ?estival in Cdinburh in '@D2! The performance, held in a sold8out festival
arena #as a#arded by tumultuous ovation, #hich opened the #ay for ;iEF 1rnec
Black 3iht Theatre to the #orld staes! /any more performances in Curope,
"merica, "ustralia, "frica, and "sia follo#ed! By no#, the theatre oranized about
9AA international tours and participated in GG theatre festivals! *nder the artistic
leadership of ;iEF 1rnec, the ensemble #as applauded both by the audience and the
critics! "fter international acclaim ained by 1rnec Theatre in the late HAs another
roups usin the techni-ue of black box appeared!&D( By the late '@HAs %raue6s
Iational Black 3iht Theatre company #as takin the uni-ue Black 3iht Theatre
style on tour throuhout Curope!&G( Today many Czech Black 3iht Theatre
companies take their most popular sho#s on #orld tours!&'(&H(&@( Bo#ever oriinal
is only one #hich has been ackno#leded by the Czech %resident J on 2H Kctober
2A'' ;iEF 1rnec, the founder of the Black 3iht Theatre, #as a#arded the hihest
state decoration (Credit of the 1tate in the ?ield of Culture and "rts /edal)! 1rnec
Theatre belons amon the most important representatives of the Czech art in the
#orld!&'A(
In Performance
The e5ect of Black 3iht Theatre allo#s invisible performers to move visible props,
turnin the ob4ects into independent participants in the theatre at the same level as
the human actors!&2( ?urthermore, the appearance of ob4ects and actors in a
performance can be sudden and can occur any#here on stae, even #ithin a fe#
meters of an audience member!&@( $n order to achieve this e5ect it is necessary to
create an intense >eld of *+ liht throuhout the entire playin space! Because the
intensity of liht emitted from a typical 6black liht6 source diminishes sini>cantly
#ith increased distance from the source, coverin an entire theatre space #ith *+
liht re-uires either that the 6black liht6 sources be spaced as close as one meter
apart or emit much more liht than a typical 6black liht6!&''( "nother important
consideration is that, since most of the space is completely dark, and the form is
heavily dance based, a sinle #ron move by a sinle performer can neatively
impact the entire production! ?or this reason performers train extensively
speci>cally for the Black 3iht Theatre environment!&'(
Contemporary Black 3iht Theatre often includes many hihly technical devices, in
addition to the standard 6black liht6 techni-ue! 1uch devices can include ),yin)
performers, lare video pro4ections, and even massive puppets!&2( These technical
devices serve as a sini>cant factor in Black 3iht Theatre6s #orld#ide popularityL
since its most important devices are entirely visual, audiences throuhout the #orld
can understand most Black 3iht Theatre performances!&'2( The intended result is a
theatrical #ork that combines rand spectacle #ith beautiful and movin art!&2(
/a4or companies currently producin Black 3iht Theatre include 1rnec Theatre, Ta
?antastika Theatre, $mae Theatre, /etro Theatre, and "ll Colours Theatre