Today, Culture Minister Martin Baxa announced the results of the selection process for the new General Director of the National Theatre and appointed Martin Glaser to the post. He is expected to start on 1 August 2028.
"I very much appreciate having been approached by the selection committee to be included in the competition for the next director of our first theatre. This really gave me food for thought, as leaving Brno won't be easy for me. I find my work here and the results we've achieved together very rewarding. Because of the timeframe, I can complete my third terms as head of the National Theatre Brno (NdB), which was just as important to me," says NdB director Martin Glaser. "Although I know that the NdB still has huge potential with all its employees, I finally came to the conclusion that after fifteen years it was time for the theatre to get a fresh face behind the wheel and that I could and should change role once more in my working career."
Martin Glaser took over the management of the National Theatre Brno on 1 November 2013. When he joined the theatre, it had not had a proper director for more than a year. The management of three of the four ensembles at that time was in the same position. "Although at first it might still seem a long time from now (I should start in Prague in three and a half years), it's a revolutionary change for this country, and despite being a bold step by Minister Baxa, it's standard practice in large European theatres. This will enable me to complete my third term here, prepare to join the National Theatre, and at the same time hand over the NdB to my successor in the best possible shape," says Martin Glaser, outlining his plans. If everything goes smoothly, he'll be three months short of spending a full 15 years in Brno. He's already one of the longest serving directors of this institution.
The National Theatre Brno faces some major strategic tasks that the current management has set out for its third term of office. To strengthen the theatre's international relations and develop new collaboration projects for all its ensembles. To work even harder to develop the highly popular educational programmes that bring new audiences to the theatre. "By the end of my mandate, I'd like to convince the city council's leadership that the investment in completing the reconstruction of the Janáček Theatre to meet the needs of the National Theatre Brno is not wasted money, but an essential investment in the future of our theatre. The second major task I'd like to complete is to see the theatre transformed into a public cultural institution under the new law. The more active involvement of the South Moravian Region and the state could stabilise the situation and encourage development," says director Martin Glaser.
By the end of his third term, he and his team should prepare three more theatre seasons for Brno audiences, four editions of the Theatre World Brno festival and two programmes for the flagship of Brno culture, the Janáček Brno festival. "I want to keep working for Brno as hard as I have done so far until the last day of my tenure. I want to fulfil the commitment I made when I accepted my third term as head of the NdB - to take care of all my dear colleagues and to keep offering audiences an ever better theatre experience. I'm sure that our theatre is now in such a good shape that there will be no shortage of people interested in running it. I'm ready to do everything possible to assist our founder," concludes Glaser.
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