The 24th edition of Prague Fringe takes place from 26 to 31 May 2025. Once again located in the Malá Strana district of the city, the festival brings together artists and audiences from across the world for six days of performance in intimate venues. This year’s schedule includes over 35 productions from 14 countries, with the majority of work presented in English. Paul Levy, editor of FringeReview writes: “I have been to Prague as a toursit but never to the Fringe though we have done a bit of reviewing now and then at this human sized, edgy Fringe.”
What sets Prague Fringe apart from larger festivals is its scale and focus.This makes for close proximity between performers and audience. According to Paul: “Many shows that begin their journey at other fringes including Brighton and Edinburgh find their way to Prague, and vice versa for a few.”
This Year’s Eclectic and Diverse Venues
This year, six venues form the physical infrastructure of the festival. Each has been selected for specific reasons: their layout, their location, their acoustic properties, or their past reliability in hosting Fringe work.
Malostranská Beseda – Klub is one of the more established spaces. It is located in a historic building near Charles Bridge, with a first-floor club room that has hosted Prague Fringe performances since 2004. The venue is suited to spoken word, solo theatre and acoustic performance. Audiences enter through the main bar and restaurant area.
Divadlo Inspirace is situated in the basement of the Academy of Performing Arts. It’s a black-box space that allows for more technical control. Its seating is raked and fixed, offering good sightlines. It often hosts physical theatre and experimental productions requiring lighting and sound precision.
A studio within the Museum of Alchemists returns as a venue. The space is compact, and performances here are closely framed by the museum’s atmosphere and history. It is not ideal for productions requiring blackout or complex tech, but it supports atmospheric, low-fi work where intimacy is central.
Golden Key – Library is a functioning hotel library that has been reconfigured for performance. It has large windows and parquet floors, giving the space a formal character. The room’s shape and layout work best for contained, narrative-driven pieces where minimal movement is required.
Divadlo Kampa is a more traditional theatre with a capacity of around 70. Located beside the river, it includes a proper stage, fixed seating and a modest tech setup. It is used this year for productions that require slightly more technical support or formal presentation.
A Studio Rubín continues as one of the festival’s most atmospheric venues. Based in a vaulted cellar with a small bar, its uneven floors and stone walls provide a very specific texture. It is often used for bold or experimental work where audience proximity is required.
Theatre Choices
Anna’s Apartment is a returning piece from Wandering Stories. It uses a single room and a central character to explore themes of memory and isolation. The set is minimal and consistent, and the performance is tightly structured. It is being presented at Malostranská Beseda – Klub. Listen to our interview with storyteller Sinead O’Brien.
The Chai Queens – A Tale of Love and Longing is a two-hander focused on intergenerational conflict and cultural transition. It draws from South Asian diasporic experiences and uses direct address, song and ritual gesture. It is being staged at Divadlo Inspirace.
Majun is a solo movement work by Riko Sugama, rooted in Ryukyuan cultural practices. It avoids narrative in favour of repetition, sound and breath. It is being staged at the Museum of Alchemists.
Heart of the Country takes the figure of Lyndon B Johnson as its starting point but expands beyond biography into questions of national identity and political consequence. It uses minimal props and acoustic music. It is showing at Golden Key – Library.
Deeptime Atomic Waste Pleasure Party uses speculative fiction, voiceover and costume to create a performance about nuclear legacy and absurdity. It does not offer a linear story and avoids resolution. It is being performed at A Studio Rubín.
For full details of the programme, venues and tickets, visit the official Prague Fringe Festival website.
Some More Shows to See
The World of Madness
A solo performance by VKINN VATS that combines storytelling and stylised movement. The piece explores ideas of contradiction, vulnerability and how private feelings become political. It’s rooted in Indian theatrical traditions and is being staged at Divadlo Inspirace.
Hemlines
Presented by Moon Bureau, this devised piece focuses on three women and their relationships with appearance, dress codes and control. It avoids didacticism and instead lets the stories build through movement, scene and spoken text.
The Night That Ali Died
A two-person drama set in a confined space, examining memory and blame after a public act of violence. The writing is tightly structured and the performance moves between silence, tension and confrontation.
Hide My Porn
An autobiographical monologue that approaches the theme of digital shame with deadpan humour and directness. Minimal tech and an unembellished delivery style put the focus on text and timing.
Will & Hannah
A dual stand-up set in which two performers alternate between scripted bits and spontaneous interaction. The tone is observational rather than absurd, with a focus on timing over punchlines.
Frat
A documentary theatre piece exploring rituals and exclusions in male social groups. Based on interviews, the show blends first-person testimony with choreographed physical movement.
Stealing Stories
A low-budget, high-concept satire about appropriation in the arts. It includes fictional panel discussions, rewrites of existing stories and a running commentary on who has the right to tell which narratives.
Pip Utton – King Lear
A solo reimagining of Shakespeare’s Lear by Pip Utton. The performance focuses not on grandeur but decay and confusion, deliberately removing the usual theatrical scaffolding to leave only the character.
This production is not a fairy tale but a slow, deliberate work about control and isolation. It uses repetition, music and minimal gesture to build its atmosphere.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywoodland
Nigel Miles-Thomas presents a one-person comedy that uses his experience in the film industry to comment on vanity, failure and nostalgia. It is mostly spoken anecdote and reflection.
You can explore the full programme at the Prague Fringe Festival website. Let me know if you want these grouped by venue, theme, or runtime.
