State Theatre of Northern Greece (Royal Theatre)

It is the permanent home of the State Theatre of Northern Greece.

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The theatre and new loft of the Society for Macedonian Studies also belong to STNG, along with "Socrates Karantinos" stage, the "Little Theatre" in Lazariston Monastery, Ghis and Forest Theatres.

First performance at the Royal Theatre (01/07/1940) was Shakespeare’s Richard III, with Alexis Minotis. During the German occupation, most of the actors were in Resistance against the Germans and the Bulgarian "cultural imperialism".

The original building, which was built during Metaxas dictatorship, was an inelegant volume, indicative of ideological hues of the time. As the years went by and the building was more and more abandoned, it was considered as an increasing embarrassment to the city. The major renovation in 1986, by using luxurious materials, improved the situation significantly, but opinions over its inelegant volumes on the beachfront remained.

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What I can see

The Royal Theatre is the permanent home of the State Theatre of Northern Greece (STNG), which originally used the building of the Society for Macedonian Studies as its headquarters. It has a 721 seat capacity and includes extended foyers, which cover a total area of 2,000 square metres. These foyers host temporary exhibitions. It is a modern building, which also incorporates elements from the city’s architectural past. Despite its innovative features for its time (eg rotating stage, hall’s conversion from summer to winter), it morphologically failed to be fully integrated into the surrounding area.

What I can't see

It was originally designed as a summer theatre for the country’s only state theatre (i.e. the Royal, and later, National Theatre of Greece, in Athens). During the Second World War, it was used for artistic events by the Germans. After the German occupation, it hosted renowned performances and was repaired twice until it reached its current form. The institution of the State Theatre of Northern Greece came later, launched in the summer of 1961 with Sophocles’ tragedy “Oedipus the King”, which was performed at the ancient theatre of Philippi in eastern Macedonia. In December of the same year, performances began in Thessaloniki. The STNG’s objective is to present and teach great Greek and foreign plays in Northern Greece and across the country. It broke ground as the first theatre in Greece with an alternating repertory, while a series of “literary mornings” were also established. In the past, there was a “tendency” to decentralize its activities through collaborations with the Theatres of Thrace (in Komotini) and Eastern Macedonia (in Serres). A children’s theatre was also established, which nowadays hosts a new style of puppetry shows, as well as performances by the dance group “Aenaon Dance Theatre” (1982) and the Opera of Thessaloniki (1997), which recently merged with the STNG.

Info

Address: Lefkos Pyrgos Sq.
Postal Code : 54621
Phone: +30 2315 200200
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.ntng.gr/

Bibliography

Zafeiris Ch., (1997), Θεσσαλονίκης Εγκόλπιον, ιστορία, πολιτισμός, η πόλη σήμερα, γεύσεις, μουσεία, μνημεία, διαδρομές, [Thessaloniki Handbook, history, culture, the city today, flavours, museums, routes], Athens: Exantas

Ζafeiris Ch., (2006), Θεσσαλονίκης τοπιογραφία, [Thessaloniki’s landscape], Thessaloniki: Epikentro

Kolonas V., (2012), Ηαρχιτεκτονικήμιαςεκατονταετίας: Θεσσαλονίκη1912-2012, [The architecture of a century: Thessaloniki 1912-2012] University Studio Press

State Theatre of Northern Greece, (2010), Βασιλικό Θέατρο- Ιστορικό, [The Royal Theatre- History]

http://www.ntng.gr/

Last visit 25/6/2014

Location

Timeline

Modern and Contemporary era (1912 - )

1940 Construction of the Royal Theatre, designed by Konstantinos Doxiadis.

1961 On January 13, STNG was founded, headed by Socrates Karantinos (director).

1973 Launch of STNG's drama school, which provides free theatre education.

1996 STNG becomes a member of the European Theatres Union.