Biography

Oldřich Nový was a Czech film and theatre actor, director, composer, dramaturge and singer. He is considered one of the greatest actors of the Czech cinema in the first half of the 20th century. At the encouragement of his uncle, Miloš Nový, a well-known actor of the National Theatre in Prague, Oldřich joined amateur theatre group "Řemeslnická beseda" and appeared in numerous plays before moving to Brno to direct in 1918. Following his fifteen year stay, Oldřich co-founded the "Nové divadlo" (The New Theatre) together with his wife Alice Valentová-Nová. There he explored new and modern expressions of theatre by combining spoken word with operetta stylings to develop the "musical comedy" genre.