Closely Watched Trains

The story of the young dispatcher Miloš Hrma, who, at the end of the war, longs to become a man, helped make Czech culture famous all over the world, not least thanks to the Oscar-winning film adaptation. Hrabal’s novella still ranks among the most powerful and humane works ever written.

Closely Watched Trains is full of humour, absurd situations and a deep feeling for ordinary people. It is an original and timeless affirmation of humanity and of the invincibility of seemingly small heroes, who bear the weight of history with humility and without grand gestures – and perhaps precisely because of that, they are the ones who ultimately accomplish the greatest deeds. The central theme of the play – how and why to love and live, and how to stand firm in difficult times – is today more urgent than we may be willing to admit.

Bohumil Hrabal’s work is closely connected with the Prague district of Libeň – in the immediate vicinity of the theatre he lived through the most creatively fruitful period of his life and it was here that he wrote Closely Watched Trains. This is also why the stage adaptation by Václav Nývlt (the dramaturg who in a way first discovered Hrabal for film) has a firm place in the repertoire of Divadlo pod Palmovkou.

The latest production is directed by an admirer of Hrabal’s work and an important Czech director, Jakub Krofta.

Director: Jakub Krofta
Premiere: 17 October 2025
Running time: 2 hours, including interval