WOW Show Prague: what to expect

Finding Theatre Broadway

The WOW Show plays at Theatre Broadway, inside the Broadway passage at Na Příkopě 31, Prague 1, postcode 110 00. The passage connects Na Příkopě with Celetná, where it carries the number 38, and you can enter from either street. Some maps and booking pages write the address as Na Příkopě 988/31, which is the same building. Look for the Divadlo Broadway sign above the Na Příkopě entrance, as in the photograph below. Whichever street you reach first, walk through the passage to the theatre, and if you are unsure, ask at the nearest shop or follow the signs to the theatre inside.

By metro

Two metro stations serve the theatre, and the theatre's own site names both as the nearest. Náměstí Republiky is on line B, with exits to Republic Square and to the Masaryk railway station. Můstek is the interchange between lines A and B, beneath the lower end of Wenceslas Square, and its two lines have separate platforms joined by corridors, so allow time if you change there. Na Příkopě runs between the two squares, so from either station you walk along the street to number 31.

The last stretch on foot

Na Příkopě follows the line of a moat dug in 1234 along the Old Town's walls. The moat was covered in 1760, and the street became a pedestrian zone in 1985, the year the line B metro began to run beneath it. Today you walk between shops, banks, old palaces and the headquarters of the Czech National Bank. The street separates the Old Town from the New Town, so the theatre sits right on the border between the two.

When to arrive

The entrance opens 30 minutes before the start. Seating is free and you choose on arrival, so the first people in have the widest choice, and a group that wants to sit together should arrive together. The show runs 65 minutes with no intermission, so settle in before the lights go out. The start time depends on the date: the booking calendar shows it and your confirmation repeats it. The show isn't on every night, so check the date as well as the time.

• The entrance opens about 30 minutes before the start
• The show runs 65 minutes with no intermission
• The start time depends on the date

Inside the dark

The whole auditorium goes completely dark, and it has to stay that way. The performers wear black costumes, gloves and masks in front of black fabric, so you only see objects painted with fluorescent dye under UV light. That is how props seem to float and a dancer can appear to hover. The show also moves into the audience: the performers walk through the rows and react to the room, and the theatre says giant fluorescent balloons descend from the ceiling and the room gets its own snow and rain.

Read next: How black light theatre works

Following a show without words

Nothing is spoken, so you have nothing to translate and no subtitles to hunt for. Music, colour and movement carry the story. The theatre describes a man searching for himself who frees a child caught in a web of fear, and it says the show suits the whole family: children enjoy the effects and the interaction, while adults get the music and a story about facing fear. Guests describe a playful, visual evening. Some find the plot loose, so treat the show as a run of vivid scenes rather than a drama to follow line by line.

With children

The theatre calls the show suitable for the whole family, and Prague City Tourism says it suits all age groups. The theatre's site has a ticket category for ages 3 to 10 and booster seats for small children, and the seats are free, so a family can sit together. The dark is the main thing to weigh. The theatre says children will be amazed rather than afraid, but only you know how yours cope with an hour of blackout. One guest took a three-year-old and enjoyed it, and another found parts hard for younger children to follow.

Photos, phones and the dark

Cameras aren't allowed, and smoking, alcohol and drugs aren't allowed either. The reason is practical as much as a rule. The theatre explains that the illusion is fragile and that even one weak ray of light can expose it. Keep your phone screen off from the moment the lights go down. If you want a picture, take it of Na Příkopě and the passage entrance before you go in, and look at the gallery on the theatre's own site for stage photographs.

• Cameras, smoking, alcohol and drugs are not allowed
• Keep your phone screen off once the lights go down
• Take your photographs outside, before you go in

Access and getting help

The booking is marked wheelchair accessible. For details of the route into the theatre, such as which entrance to use from the street, contact the theatre through the contact page on its site before you travel, where it lists phone numbers and an email address. If you need a step-free route from the metro to the street, check the transport operator's accessibility information before you travel. Doing both before the day means you arrive with a plan, rather than finding out at the door, and gives the theatre time to answer any questions about seating.

Before or after the show

Na Příkopě links Wenceslas Square and Republic Square, so you can start or end the evening at either. The street is wide, paved and closed to traffic, which makes it an easy walk after an hour in the dark. Prague City Tourism lists the theatre among its sites in the Old Town, and a short history of the street and the two squares at its ends is in the note on Na Příkopě. You don't need a ticket to walk the street or the passage.

Read next: Na Příkopě before or after the show

Who this isn't for

The WOW Show isn't for anyone who needs dialogue or a plot to stay engaged, because the story is carried by images. It isn't for people who can't stay in a completely dark room for an hour, and it isn't for anyone who wants to film or photograph the performance. If you need a guaranteed seat position, note that seating is free and the choice is made on the night, so you can't reserve a particular seat when you book. And if you want a long evening, remember the show lasts 65 minutes, so plan dinner or a walk around it.