We'll be in Prague for a week in October and want to buy tickets ahead for some special evenings out. We're 2 adults and our daughter aged 15. Would appreciate hearing recommendations (or warnings!) for Black theatre, puppet theatre, Laterna Magika,etc. I understand concerts are easy to book as we wander around. Have you found this to be true?? There seem to be a lot of offerings and I wondered if the quality varies. Any other suggestions or advice on reservations that should be made ahead for the trip would be appreciated! Thanks !

I can't advise on those theatre experiences as I haven't been to them, but have many other types of performances.

Yes, concerts are easy to book in Prague, I have gone to smaller chamber music performances buying tickets at the door. I know what I want to hear and where, though, from newspaper and internet listings, I don't just wander around. There are two kinds of concerts in Prague -- those that cater to tourists, which occur in 1-2 churches or famous buildings (eg, St Nicholas on Old Town Sq), and they often do have folks on the sidewalk with flyers that you may run into. I haven't been to those because the repertoire doesn't appeal to me, so can't comment on quality regarding performance, but I would imagine it is adequate with all the music students and professionals around there.

Regular concerts or chamber music/recitals vary from cheaper events (maybe 10-15 euro) in some churches or the museum to the major events with world-famous conductors and performers in the Rudolfinum, Obecni Dum, etc. In the latter case, I would definitely recommend you buy tickets ahead to get good seats if there is something you really want to see--Prague is very focused on classical music and good performances do sell out ahead, at least decent seats. For example, I wanted to hear a symphony by the Czech Philharmonic with Ashkenazy conducting one May, at the Rudolfinum, and all seats were sold out about two months ahead.

It sounds like you don't want anything that specific, in which case I wouldn't worry about booking tickets ahead. There isn't anything I can think of from your post that you would need to book ahead.

Before visiting Prague last year we decided to book ahead for one of the marrionette theatres and also Lanterna Magika...and our hotel concierge did so for us after we requested this via e-mail. The marrionette theatre was full on the night we attended; the "Magic Lantern" was about half empty. I suspect you can book a lot of performances once you arrive.

Laterna Magicka is actually a building. Performances change either daily or every few days. I saw "Cassanova" there which I thought was absolutely boring. However, I was told by many that seeing "The Circus" is quite enjoyable.

I was able to buy a seat for the day of the performance, and the theatre was about 2/3 empty for the performance that I attended. I bought a "cheap" seat and I could see the performance and stage clearly. The seats are comfortable, the performance was so dull that I actually fell asleep in the chair. Think Lazy Boy style chair, and you'll have an idea of the comfort.

You can easily get tickets there for the touristy events, as someone else already mentioned. Look in the Prague Post for listings of things to do. Also, www.travel.cz has info. I agree that for the hardcore classical stuff (Czech Phil, State Opera, etc), you may need to purchase ahead.

We're back from our trip (Prague IS as beautiful as everyone says) and wanted to say thanks for the tips on theatres. We weren't interested in anything specific so we took a chance and didn't book ahead. Got tickets our first day there from ticketpro for both the Image black theatre (The Best of Image) and the National puppet theatre (Don Giovanni). I figured we were slightly passed the tourist season and it wouldn't be full. No problem getting tickets, but both were packed. Both were well done and entertaining -- tourist level maybe, but that's what we were, no? Did learn two things -- 1) The tickets are cheaper at the theatre -- ticketpro takes a commission. 2) Get there early. The seats are unmarked. I think we got the last seats for both performances.
As for random concerts, there were concert offers everywhere everyday all over, both classical and jazz.

Glad everything worked out. Can't wait to go back again ASAP. Good point about buying tickets directly from the theater, rather than from a handling agency. They do charge a mark-up. Even though the tickets are usually reasonable, if you know a show is not going to sell out (you can research it through ticketpro), just get your tickets at the door.