Ján Roháč

Ján Roháč was a Slovak director who profoundly shaped Czechoslovak theatre, film, and television in the 20th century. A graduate of DAMU in Prague, he began at the Satirical Theatre and later at Laterna Magika, where his imaginative vision merged film with the stage. Together with Alfréd Radok, he was one of the pioneers of multimedia theatre. He also made history as the director of legendary revivals of Voskovec and Werich’s Osvobozené Theatre productions, as well as musicals and cabaret shows. Television audiences especially remember his work from the 1960s in music and entertainment programmes, where he collaborated with Jiří Suchý and Jiří Šlitr, as well as Jiří Grossmann and Miloslav Šimek. Critics called him “a director of endless invention and a master of modern expression,” while colleagues described him as “a visionary who combined humour, poetry, and technical experiment.” Today, Ján Roháč is remembered as a creator who opened new horizons for Czechoslovak theatre and television.