Black Light Theatre (in Czech ern divadlo) or simply Black Theatre, is a theatrical performance style characterized by the

use of black box theatre au mented by black li ht illusion! This form of theatre ori inated from "sia and can be found in many places around the #orld! $t has become a speciality of %ra ue, #here many theatres use it!&'( The distinctive characteristics of )black theatre) are the use of black curtains, a darkened sta e, and )black li htin ) (*+ li ht), paired #ith fluorescent costumes in order to create intricate visual illusions! This )black cabinet) techni,ue #as used by -eor es .li/s, and by theatre revolutionary 0tanislavsky! The techni,ue, paired #ith the expressive artistry of dance, mime and acrobatics of the performers is able to create remarkable spectacles!&1( Optics

" key principal of Black 2i ht Theatre is the inability of the human eye to distin uish black ob3ects from a black back round! This effect results in effective invisibility for any ob3ects not illuminated by the 4black li ht4!&1( The second optical principal behind Black 2i ht Theatre is the effect of *+ li ht on fluorescent ob3ects! Black li hts actually emit as much li ht as 4normal4 li hts, but at a fre,uency that humans cannot detect! 5hile most ob3ects either absorb *+ li ht or reflect it back at the same fre,uency at #hich it came in, fluorescent ob3ects absorb *+ li ht then re6emit it a lon er #avelen th that human eyes can detect!&7( The combined effect is that desi ners can make some ob3ects appear as bri ht as if the room #ere fully li hted, #hile makin other ob3ects appear as dark as if the room #ere completely dark! History

The 4black box trick4 of usin performers dressed in black in a dark playin space has been in use for millennia, startin #ith the 3u lers performin for the emperor in ancient China!&8( 9apan 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 0tanislavski, film director -eor e .elies, and various <rench avant arde directors of the '=:>s! "mon these directors, -eor e 2afaille became an earlier pioneer of black cabinet!&1( But all these directors used the simple trick of black cabinet 3ust for fe# moments durin their performances mostly to make somethin on the sta e disappear! ?o#ever the true father of Black 2i ht Theatre, author of the principe of black cabinet as is used no#adays (placement of spot li hts, placement of uv li hts, selection of black velvet as the best material to absorb residual li ht on the scene!!!) and even author of the name )Black 2i ht Theatre) and so the creator of the 'st

Black 2i ht Theatre in the 5orld is .r! 9iri 0rnec! The very first performance of the ensemble, #hich had already brou ht international attention, took place in '=:= in +ienna! The real debut for the ensemble, ho#ever, #as its participation in the Theatre <estival in @dinbur h in '=A1! The performance, held in a sold6out festival arena #as a#arded by tumultuous ovation, #hich opened the #ay for 9iBC 0rnec Black 2i ht Theatre to the #orld sta es! .any more performances in @urope, "merica, "ustralia, "frica, and "sia follo#ed! By no#, the theatre or anized about 7>> international tours and participated in DD theatre festivals! *nder the artistic leadership of 9iBC 0rnec, the ensemble #as applauded both by the audience and the critics! "fter international acclaim ained by 0rnec Theatre in the late E>s another roups usin the techni,ue of black box appeared!&A( By the late '=E>s %ra ue4s Fational Black 2i ht Theatre company #as takin the uni,ue Black 2i ht Theatre style on tour throu hout @urope!&D( Today many Czech Black 2i ht Theatre companies take their most popular sho#s on #orld tours!&'(&E(&=( ?o#ever ori inal is only one #hich has been ackno#led ed by the Czech %resident G on 1E Hctober 1>'' 9iBC 0rnec, the founder of the Black 2i ht Theatre, #as a#arded the hi hest state decoration (Credit of the 0tate in the <ield of Culture and "rts .edal)! 0rnec Theatre belon s amon the most important representatives of the Czech art in the #orld!&'>( In Performance

The effect of Black 2i ht Theatre allo#s invisible performers to move visible props, turnin the ob3ects into independent participants in the theatre at the same level as the human actors!&1( <urthermore, the appearance of ob3ects and actors in a performance can be sudden and can occur any#here on sta e, even #ithin a fe# meters of an audience member!&=( $n order to achieve this effect it is necessary to create an intense field of *+ li ht throu hout the entire playin space! Because the intensity of li ht emitted from a typical 4black li ht4 source diminishes si nificantly #ith increased distance from the source, coverin an entire theatre space #ith *+ li ht re,uires either that the 4black li ht4 sources be spaced as close as one meter apart or emit much more li ht than a typical 4black li ht4!&''( "nother important consideration is that, since most of the space is completely dark, and the form is heavily dance based, a sin le #ron move by a sin le performer can ne atively impact the entire production! <or this reason performers train extensively specifically for the Black 2i ht Theatre environment!&'( Contemporary Black 2i ht Theatre often includes many hi hly technical devices, in addition to the standard 4black li ht4 techni,ue! 0uch devices can include )flyin ) performers, lar e video pro3ections, and even massive puppets!&1( These technical devices serve as a si nificant factor in Black 2i ht Theatre4s #orld#ide popularityI since its most important devices are entirely visual, audiences throu hout the #orld can understand most Black 2i ht Theatre performances!&'1( The intended result is a

theatrical #ork that combines rand spectacle #ith beautiful and movin art!&1( .a3or companies currently producin Black 2i ht Theatre include 0rnec Theatre, Ta <antastika Theatre, $ma e Theatre, .etro Theatre, and "ll Colours Theatre