As the 2026 World Cup captivates fans around the globe with moments of passion, drama, and sporting dreams, a theatrical production inspired by the beautiful game is set to take the stage at Theatre Young in Shanghai.

Vivat Football  is co-directed by Petr Bohac and Mirenka Cechova of the Czech Republic's Spitfire Company. The duo is known for their cross-disciplinary and multi-artform approach to theater. Their work has earned them the Fringe First Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, one of the world's largest performing arts festivals.

On stage, Daniel Prazak, one of the Czech Republic's most accomplished freestyle footballers, will showcase breathtaking ball control, transforming the stage into a live spectacle of speed, rhythm, and athletic prowess.

Prazak is the first Czech athlete to become a freestyle football world champion. In 2021, he won the Sick Three competition, widely regarded as one of the sport’s most demanding and creative events. Through a series of spins, pauses, airborne moves, and ball transfers, Prazak tells a story of dreams and coming of age, using his world-class skills to bring the journey vividly to life.

The production is also a live celebration that blends electronic music, physical performance, and raw emotion. DJ and musician Badfocus performs live, improvising a score that responds in real-time to the performers, the football choreography, and the shifting rhythms on stage. Pulsing electronic beats, dynamic lighting, and the high-speed interplay of body and ball transform the theater into an arena-like space that grows more electrifying with every minute.

Vivat Football is not simply about the sport itself. It explores broader themes of passion, perseverance, and self-belief. At its heart, it is a story about falling and rising again, and about the part of us that once believed anything was possible with enough determination.

If you go

When: Aug 7 at 7:30 pm; Aug 8 at 2 pm & 7:30 pm

Where: Main Stage, Theatre Young, No 1155 Kongjiang Road, Yangpu district

Ticket prices: 180 yuan ($26.64) to 380 yuan (audience members with 380-yuan tickets can join on-stage interaction)

Duration: 55 minutes with no intermission

Language: Performed in Czech with Chinese subtitles

Source: Theatre Young