Jan Novák: key obituary facts
Is Jan Novák dead? Yes. Jan Novák died on October 21, 2026, at age 79.
Cause of death: Jan Novák's cause of death has not been publicly confirmed.
What was Jan Novák known for?
Jan Novák was a Czech theatre director and educator.
Jan Novák, the Czech theatre director and educator, died on October 21, 2026, aged 79.
Born in Velké Losiny on April 19, 1947, he studied at the Secondary Industrial School of Film in Čimelice before pursuing theatre directing at DAMU, graduating in 1971 in the class of František Štěpánek. His directing work took him to the Horácké Theatre in Jihlava, the Theatre of the Victorious February in Hradec Králové, the Oldřich Stibor State Theatre in Olomouc and the S.
K. Neumann Theatre in Prague. In 1985, Novák joined the Theatre on the Vinohrady with a new dramaturgical team that included Jan Vedral, Roman Císař and Zuzana Sílová. He became the theatre’s artistic head in 1986, serving in the post through 1987. Alongside his directing work, he taught at DAMU, the institution where he had studied theatre directing. His career thus included work at stages in several Czech cities, a leadership role at one of Prague’s theatres and teaching at the academy. His education brought together film studies at Čimelice and specialist theatre-directing training at DAMU, before his work in theatre and education.