The British theater critic Irving Wardle famously compared theatrical concepts to sperm: "An eager horde, most of which fail to fertilize the egg." On the cover of the brochure for Invasion of Europe 2006, a spritz of sperm is found zeroing in on an egg. But in looking over this prospectus for the ambitious yearlong series that brings the best of Czech theater to the rest of the Continent, one can't help thinking this is a highly fertile endeavor.

Audiences from Belfast to Bucharest are getting insight on the startling variety of contemporary theatrical work being created in the Czech Republic, and one of the forces behind it is a Canadian expat.

Don Nixon has been working in Czech theater since 1994, and is an enthusiastic expert on the post-communist development of stage work in the country. As a member of the team that works on international projects at the Theater Institute, Nixon is in a plum position to share his knowledge and passion for the work being done on Czech stages.

"There's a lot of exciting things happening here at the moment," Nixon says during an interview in the courtyard of the Theater Institute. "And theater festivals throughout the world are now starting to specifically ask for Czech companies to come and perform. It's really quite wonderful."

Out of the plains

Nixon grew up in Saskatchewan, where he attended the University of Saskatchewan and began studying architecture. In doing research on stage scenography, he found himself drawn to the theater. After graduating with a degree in directing and acting, he decided to try his luck in Vancouver.

But Vancouver's theater scene was in transition, and Nixon ended up working for IMAX for three years. An acquaintance suggested he try his luck in Prague, which was then a Mecca for artists trying to find their way. Nixon came to Prague in '93 and liked what he saw.

Like many expats, he started out teaching English, though he spent his free time educating himself on the local theater. A chance encounter brought him in contact with theater director Ondřej Hrab, who invited Nixon to join him in his newest venture: the Archa Theatre. "It was wonderful to be involved in a new theatrical enterprise," Nixon says.

As Hrab's international production manager, Nixon quickly cut his teeth on helping create a truly global performance venue in a city that had been fairly isolated for most of the century. Archa opened in '94 with an East-meets-West gala featuring Butoh master and Archa's patron saint, Min Tanaka, performing with composer/musician John Cale. There followed engagements with Robert Wilson, Meredith Monk, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Rinde Eckert in short order. "The experience was invaluable for me," Nixon recalls. "It gave me all the knowledge I needed to work on an international level."

In 2001, Nixon left Archa for the Theater Institute, where he was invited to help coordinate an event called the Canadian Season in Prague. Archa was to be the primary venue for the festival, but the floods of 2002 inundated the theater just as the Canadians were arriving. As a result, Nixon got a crash course in crisis management. Space was found for the performances to go on, and the festival was a great success. It also achieved what such festivals are meant to accomplish but seldom beget: cross-fertilization. The following year, Nixon was headed for Canada with a band of Czech performers for a Czech Season in Canada.

The Canadian Season became a model for the Theater Institute, and Nixon was named coordinator of international projects. Teatro.cz, a festival of Czech theater in Latin America, was developed in 2005, which led finally to this year's Invasion of Europe.

Tragedy on the road

I first interviewed Nixon two days after an incident that has shaken Prague's theater community. While coming back from two performances in Lublin, Poland, as part of Invasion of Europe, the highly inventive Czech troupe Krepsko was involved in a road accident that tragically killed the company's founder, the astonishingly talented Petr Lorenc. Krepsko had been one of the centerpieces of both the Czech Season in Canada and this year's Invasion. It fell to a deeply saddened Nixon to inform the Lublin organizers and others of the tragedy.

At our most recent meeting, Nixon informed me that the surviving members of Krepsko, many still recovering from injuries, have vowed to go on with the company — good news for anyone who is familiar with the young troupe's work.

The invasion continues

The rest of Nixon's year is filled with organizing more European appearances by such Czech artists and groups as Handa Gote, the Lhotáková and Soukup Company, and the ever-clever SKUTR group. There will also be some staged readings of new Czech plays in Bucharest, one of which, David Drábek's Aquabelles, has been translated by Nixon into English (the play has already had an independent reading in New York).

Audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this month, or for London's FEEAST Festival in November, can catch Farm in the Cave and discover the mad genius of Petr Nikl (who is constructing a site-specific work in a London abattoir).

Certainly, Nixon's efforts have helped reinforce the country's reputation for being a center of theater, but he's also seen a local impact. "Outside work has definitely influenced the local stage," Nixon says. "You have to understand that Archa was first looked down upon for being too concerned with international work. But that's a thing of the past. Change is good."