Black light theater

Black Light Theatre (in Czech černé divadlo) or simply Black Theatre, is a theatrical performance style characterized by the use of black box theatre augmented by black light illusion. This form of theatre originated from Asia and can be found in many places around the world. It has become a speciality of Prague, where many theatres use it.

The distinctive characteristics of "black theatre" are the use of black curtains, a darkened stage, and "black lighting" (UV light), paired with fluorescent costumes in order to create intricate visual illusions. This "black cabinet" technique was used by Georges Méliès, and by theatre revolutionary Konstantin Stanislavski (especially in his production of Cain). The technique, paired with the expressive artistry of dance, mime and acrobatics of the performers is able to create remarkable spectacles.

A key principle of Black Light Theatre is the inability of the human eye to distinguish black objects from a black background. This effect results in effective invisibility for any objects not illuminated by the 'black light'. The second optical principle behind Black Light Theatre is the effect of UV light on fluorescent objects. Black lights actually emit as much light as 'normal' lights, but at a frequency that humans cannot detect. While most objects either absorb UV light or reflect it back at the same frequency at which it came in, fluorescent objects absorb UV light then re-emit it at a longer wavelength that human eyes can detect. The combined effect is that designers can make some objects appear as bright as if the room were fully lighted, while making other objects appear as dark as if the room were completely dark.

The 'black box trick' of using performers dressed in black in a dark playing space has been in use for millennia, starting with the jugglers performing for the emperor in ancient China. Japan developed this technique in its Bunraku Theatre by having puppeteers wear black in order to place complete emphasis on the puppet. In modern theatre the black box trick has been adopted up by Russian director Konstantin Stanislavski, film director George Melies, and various French avantgarde directors of the 1950s. Among these directors, George Lafaille became an earlier pioneer of black cabinet. But all these directors used the simple trick of black cabinet just for few moments during their performances mostly to make something on the stage disappear.

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