The Count is playing theater. Leopold II. Lažanský of Bukova (1854-1891) 

Count Lažanský loved theatre. As an actor in the fields of lover and hero, he tried to establish himself in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and opened a castle theatre in his mansion in the West Bohemian town of Chysa. He acted exclusively in German, with one of his great roles being Goethe’s Faust. After ten years, he traded his theatrical career for a political one and became a member of the Reichstag Council for the radical Young Bohemians. In the Viennese parliament, however, he became especially famous for his pro-Jewish theatrics and scandals. He died at the age of only 37, leaving behind at least six illegitimate descendants.

The Count Plays the Theatre is an engagingly written biography of an interesting personality of the second half of the 19th century. The figure of the controversial nobleman takes us into the environment of the theatre, its operation and everyday life, and on the political stage into the escalating national disputes during the struggle for Czech political emancipation. At the same time, it provides insight into the intimate life of a member of the aristocracy of the time and answers questions about the position of the nobility in the dynamically changing world of the century before last.

Author: Berenika Zemanová.

Prepared by the Cabinet for the Study of Czech Theatre.

Publication: at the end of 2023