National Theatre actors declare strike readiness in Prague

On Tuesday evening, actors of the National Theatre drama company announced that they were entering a state of strike readiness. They joined the appeal of outraged students and demanded that the public service media bill be withdrawn, along with the resignation of Culture Minister Oto Klempíř. They invite everyone who disagrees to gather on Letná on 15 November 2026.

The statement, published on behalf of the theatre at 21:30 on Tuesday, links the decision to a political course that, in the company's view, peaked on Saturday: they say the public media bill was approved at 4:36 a.m. and sent on to second reading. The Babiš government coalition, as a reminder, pushed the amendments through first reading in the Chamber of Deputies last Friday in an unorthodox manner. Hundreds of people protested outside the building, and on Sunday the organisation Million Moments for Democracy filled Old Town Square.

What the actors demand

The actors listed six demands:

— to immediately withdraw the bill abolishing the television and radio licence fees, and either keep the current law or discuss a new one on the basis of broad consensus among all parliamentary parties, experts and employees of the affected organisations; in the theatre's view, the current draft threatens the independence of public service media and gives those in power direct influence over them;

— to end the destructive interference in the Ministry of Culture's grant and subsidy policy and the non-expert pressure on its expert committees;

— to stop attempts to radically change the State Audiovisual Fund and weaken support for Czech audiovisual work;

— to halt the failed selection process for the director of the National Gallery Prague and ensure a transparent, professional procedure;

— to withdraw the new draft State Cultural Policy, prepared without the involvement of the professional community, and begin implementing the previously approved policy for 2026–2030+;

— the immediate resignation of Culture Minister Oto Klempíř and the head of his office and press spokesperson Barbora Šťastná.

The actors claim that the ministry, the minister and his “right hand” Šťastná, wife of Sports Minister Boris Šťastný (both from Motorists), have been wrecking the department since December 2025. Šťastná was previously, among other things, a spokesperson for the SPD. According to the actors, soon after Klempíř arrived the ministry abolished its press department, does not answer journalists’ questions and relies on social media with short, often misleading slogans.

Who has backed the protest

The protest is not limited to the National Theatre. The Actors’ Association supported the statement: its president Ondřej Kepka said the association fully backs the company’s demands. Following the Prague actors, other theatres in the capital have voiced support, among them the Dejvice Theatre and the Jára Cimrman Theatre, as well as stages in Ústí nad Labem, Cheb, Brno and Ostrava. On Monday the company was backed by the National Theatre Opera and the State Opera.

The Prague theatre academy DAMU also published a statement on Tuesday. Its students said that on 3 November they will join the strike declared by employees of Czech Television and Czech Radio, and called on other universities and academics to support the protests. The first step will be an action called “Five to Twelve”: every day at 11:55 a.m., voices, singing and music will sound from the windows of the faculty at Karlova 26 as a symbolic alarm signal. According to DAMU, the aim is not only to express disagreement but to show that it is time to stop watching passively.

The National Theatre actors warned that until the demands are met they remain in strike readiness and are prepared to escalate the protest.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz