Emília VÁŠÁRYOVÁ

Member of the Slovak National Theatre Drama Company

Having grown up in a family of teachers, as a child Ms Vášáryová was a keen sportsperson.  It was sonly by chance that she became involved in acting. In 1963 she graduated at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. During the theatre season 1963/1964 she was with the theatre Nová scéna. In 1964 she joined the Slovak National theatre where she is until today, to have become an integral part of the acting company. Until recently she was also acting tutor at her alma mater, having raised generations of actors.

During her time at the Slovak National Theatre she played a wide range of female characters, including

  • Helena (William Shakespeare: Midsummer Night’s Dream, 1965),
  • Mary Warren (Arthur Miller: The Crucible, 1966),
  • Salome (P. O. Hviezdoslav: Herodes and Herodias, 1970),
  • Countess Elisa Hrabovská (Ján Palárik: Adventure at Harvest Time, 1970),
  • Antigone (Sophocles: Antigone, 1971),
  • Natasha (L. N. Tolstoy – E. Piscator: War and Peace, 1974),
  • Natalia (I. S. Turgenev: A Month in the Country, 1980),
  • Masha (A. P. Chekhov: Three Sisters, 1984),
  • Old Woman (E. Ionesco: The Chairs, 1999),
  • Anna (Václav Klimáček: Hypermarket, 2005),
  • Weseloh, Mother (Jonathan Littell: The Kindly Ones, 2014),
  • Helena Ekdahl (Ingmar Bergman: Fanny and Alexander, 2016).

Ms Vášáryová is also an acclaimed film actress, having stared in such roles as

  • Katka (Jiří Krejčík: Polnočná omša /Midnight Mass, 1962),
  • Diana (Vojtěch Jasný: Až přijde kocour / The Cassandra Cat, 1963),
  • Lenka (Karel Zeman: Bláznova kronika / The Jester´s Tale, 1964),
  • Eva (Vladimír Bahna: Námestie sv. Alžbety / St. Elizabeth Square, 1965),
  • Sashka (Martin Hollý Jr.: Medená veža / The Copper Tower, 1970),
  • Zuza (Martin Hollý Jr.: Kto odchádza v daždi / Who Leaves in the Rain?, 1974),
  • Marta (Eva Borušovičová: Modré z neba, 1997),
  • Matka (Jan Hřebejk: Pelíšky / Cosy Dens, 1998),
  • Eva (Marko Škop: Eva Nová, 2015),
  • Personal Assistant (Julius Ševčík: Masaryk, 2016).

It was as early as in 1967 that Ms Vášáryová received The Ján Borodáč Prize. In 1978 she was named the Artist Laureate. The range of further prestigious awards include The Andrej Bagar Prize, Crystal Wing and multiple DOSKY Awards. In 2000 she won the media poll and was named the Actress of the Century. She is also the laureate of a number of state awards.

Ms Vášáryová currently features at the Slovak National Theatre as

  • First Woman (Ivan Vyrypayev: Illusions, 2014),
  • Weseloh / Mother (Jonathan Littell: The Kindly Ones, 2014),
  • (Jiří Havelka et al.: Élites, 2017),  
  • Peters (Gerhart Hauptmann: Before Sunset, 2018),
  • (Jiří Havelka et al.: No Show Tonight, 2019),
  • Founding Member of the National Theatre (Mikhail Bulgakov: Theatre Novel, 2020). 
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