Royal Dramatic Theatre

Building
Royal Dramatic Theatre
Royal Dramatic Theatre
Town	Stockholm
Country	Sweden
Construction
Completed	18 February 1908
Design team
Architect	Fredrik Lilljekvist

The Royal Dramatic Theatre or in Swedish Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern, colloquially known in Sweden as Dramaten, is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama". Around one thousand shows are played annually on the theatre's eight running stages.

The theatre has been at its present location in the Art Nouveau building in Nybroplan, Stockholm since 1908. The theatre was built by the architect Fredrik Lilljekvist. Famous artists like Carl Milles and Carl Larsson were involved in making the decorations, and some of the interior decorations were made by Prince Eugen.

The theatre's acting school, Dramatens elevskola, produced many actors and directors who would go on to be famous, including Gustaf Molander (who also taught there), Alf Sjöberg, Greta Garbo, Signe Hasso, Ingrid Bergman, Gunnar Björnstrand, Max von Sydow, and Bibi Andersson. The school was split off as a separate institution in 1967 (see Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting).

1 History
- 1.1 17th and 18th century
- 1.2 19th and 20th century
2 Stages
3 Managing Directors
4 Notable actors in the history of Dramaten
- 4.1 19th century
- 4.2 20th century
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

History

17th and 18th century

The first Swedish theatre, opened in Bollhuset and Lejonkulan in 1667 and employed only foreign companies. While the plays were sometimes open to the public, it remained more or less a court-theatre. The first Swedish play, "Den Svenska Sprätthöken", was performed in 1737 and it was performed by the first Swedish theatre company. They were fired by queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia in 1753 and a French company was hired in their place. In 1773, king Gustav III fired the French company and encouraged Swedish talents, and thus, the Royal Swedish Opera was founded in Bollhuset. A theatre of spoken drama was founded in the same building in 1787, but was not to last long. In 1788 the director fled the country to escape his creditors, so the actors formed a company and asked for the king's protection, which led to the establishment of the national theatre.

Sweden's national stage for dramatic art; spoken drama, was established by King Gustav III in 1788. It was then that the Royal Theatre (Kungliga Teatern) in Sweden was officially split in two, and the Royal Theatre (today known as the Royal Swedish Opera) became thereafter solely an opera stage. For spoken drama a new theatre was built specifically, called Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern - the Royal Dramatic Theatre, to distinguish it from the Royal Theatre; the opera stage.

The king became the formal director and placed the theatre under Royal protection, to be ruled by the actors themselves by votes every fourteenth day under the supervision of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. This rule was quite chaotic, and the voting is described as capricious and temperamental; " The male actors arguing with each other, one of the ladies voting yes because another lady voted no, other of them counting their buttons and letting fate decide", and in 1803, the actors themselves asked the system to be replaced by a director.

The Royal Dramatic Theatre was located in the old premises at Bollhuset during its first years, but in 1792, the old building was deemed to be to run down, and 1 November 1793, the theatre was opened in the Palace of Makalös, also called Arsenalen, where the theatre was to be located for the next thirty years; it was now often commonly called the Arsenal Theatre. In 1798, the theatres and operas of Stockholm were united by a royal monopoly, and the "Two Stages" ruled unconstested over the city for over forty years.

19th and 20th century

In 1825, the old Palace building of the theatre caught fire and burned down in the middle of a performance. The theatre was now located in the same building as the Opera, an arrangement which was to continue for almost forty years.

The middle of the 19th century was ot mean changes both within and outside the theatre. In 1834, the actors, infuriated by a new system that replaced their pro cent in the theatre-income by a set salary went on strike, knowing they had succeeded with a similar one, against an unpopular director, in 1828, but this time, the strike was broken by the government, who gave some of them raised salaries and fired the others with pension. The fired actors founded a theatre-company that performed all around town, and in 1842, the theatre-monopoly was broken and a second theatre was founded in Stockholm; by the 1850s, they where several theatres in the city, and the royal Dramatic theatre experienced harsh competition, especially from the Svenska teatern (Swedish Theatre).

They where a lot of critic about the arrangement of the charing of localities o between the opera and the theatre, as the localities ot the Opera was built for singing and considered wrong for spoken drama, and in 1863, the Royal Dramatic Theatre purchased the building of an old rival theatre, Mindre teatern, and moved the theatre to that building. Here the Royal Dramatic Theatre remained until 1907, and it was here new dramas of the 19th Century were performed; the pioneer plays of Ibsen and Chekov, as well as August Strindberg's late dramatic works, for example Till Damaskus (To Damascus).

But at the beginning of the 1900s the theatre was run down and in desperate need of renovation and a more modern, functional stage. From the 1880s the national stage had suffered heavy competition from several new private theatres in Stockholm, in particular the Svenska teatern (Swedish Theatre) which was run by the charismatic theatre personality Albert Ranft.

Many of the original Swedish stagings of Ibsen's plays had been produced at the Swedish Theatre instead of the national stage, as well as new German and French dramatic work, and the national stage was at same time being accused of being old, dusty and over-crowded. Heavy discussions in the press were being held on the subject of how to renew the national stage at Kungsträdgården. Many proposals suggested different rebuildings, but King Oscar II was not satisfied with any of the suggestions. Instead, the decision was soon made to completely tear down the old theatre building and to build a new, bigger, fresh and more modern one at a more suitable location. From the 1850s onwards, Stockholm as a city and as Sweden's definitive capital had changed considerably as had its centre. In 1881, the Royal Dramatic Theatre, which had until then ben financed by the royal court, which gave the actors status as court staff, was separated from the royal court and the royal family and made a theatre of the state, which was completed in 1888.

The new location that was eventually picked out for the new Royal Dramatic Theatre; Nybroplan, was closer to what was then becoming the heart of Stockholm, beautifully situated by the waterfront. Fredrik Lilljekvist was appointed head architect, and on February 18th 1908 the national stage's new theatre building at Nybroplan opened with Strindberg's new play Mäster Olof. This building is the present Royal Dramatic Theatre. Here the legendary theatre directors; brothers Olof and Gustaf Molander, Alf Sjöberg and Ingmar Bergman formed the Swedish theatre and helped shape Sweden's theatrical history with their 20th century stagings.

When mentioning the national stage in Sweden, you generally speak of the old Royal Dramatic Theatre (meaning Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern that was located at Kungsträdgården 1788-1907) and then the new/present Royal Dramatic Theatre, a.k.a Dramaten, located at Nybroplan since 1908 ("Dramaten" is not used when referring to the old Royal Dramatic Theatre).

Dramaten by night

Stages

Dramaten currently houses eight stages:

Stora scenen - the main stage, since 1908 (720 seats)
Lilla scenen - the second stage, since 1945; renovated and re-opened in 2000 (340 seats)
Målarsalen - since 1971; a former painting studio for theatrical scenery (160 seats)
Tornrummet - the small, intimate stage; stage formerly used by the old Royal Dramatic Theare's acting school (60 seats)
Lejonkulan - Young Dramaten; Dramaten's regular stage for school plays
Stora Elverket - stage for contemporary/new-written dramatic work
Lilla Elverket - above (the smaller stage at Elverket)
Strindbergs Intima Teater - August Strindberg's own 1907 built theatre, re-opened and run by Dramaten since 2002

Managing Directors

of the Royal Dramatic Theatre (Dramaten):

(since 2002) - Staffan Valdemar Holm
(1997-2002) - Ingrid Dahlberg
(1986-1997) - Lars Löfgren
(1985-1985) - Ingvar Kjellson
(1981-1985) - Lasse Pöysti
(1975-1981) - Jan-Olof Strandberg
(1966-1975) - Erland Josephson
(1963-1966) - Ingmar Bergman
(1951-1963) - Karl Ragnar Gierow
(1948-1961) - Ragnar Josephson
(1938-1948) - Pauline Brunius
(1934-1938) - Olof Molander
(1928-1934) - Erik Wettergren
(1922-1928) - Tore Svennberg
(1910-1922) - Tor Hedberg
(1908-1910) - Knut Michaelson

of the old Royal Dramatic Theatre:

(1904-1907) - Gustaf Fredriksson
(1898-1904) - Nils Personne
(1888-1898) - Gustaf Fredriksson
(1883-1888) - Anders Willman
(1881-1883) - Henrik Westin
(1866-1881) - Erik Vilhelm af Edholm
(1861-1866) - Eugène von Stedingk
(1860-1860) - Daniel Hwasser
(1856-1860) - Gunnar Olof Hyltén-Cavallius
(1852-1856) - Knut Bonde
(1848-1852) - Svante Gustaf Schyberg
(1844-1848) - Hugo Adolf Hamilton
(1840-1844) - Svante Gustaf Schyberg
(1838-1840) - Karl David Forsberg (financial director)
(1838-1844) - Alexis Baeckman (director of scenery)
(1832-1838) - Per Westerstrand
(1831-1832) - Bernhard von Beskow
(1827-1831) - Karl Johan Puke
(1823-1827) - Gustaf Lagerbjelke
(1818-1823) - Gustav Fredrik Åkerhielm
(1818-1818) - Crown Prince Oscar
(1818-1818) - J.P. Törner
(1812-1818) - Gustav Löwenhielm
(1810-1812) - Anders Fredrik Skjöldebrand
(1804-1810) - Abraham Niklas Clewberg-Edelcrantz
(1798-1804) - J. Hugo Hamilton
(1792-1798) - Klaes Rålamb
(1788-1792) - Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt

Notable actors in the history of Dramaten

19th century

Samuel Ahlgren, (1764-1816).
Charlotta Almlöf, (career peak 1840s-1850s)
Knut Almlöf, (1829-1899)
Nils Almlöf.
Charlotta Eriksson, (1794-1862) one of the most popular actresses in the first half of the 19th century.
Elisabeth Frösslind, (1793-1861)
Gustav Åbergsson, (1775-1852), leading actor in "lover"-parts.
Ellen Hartman-Cederström, leading comedienne between 1880-1910.
Viktor Hartman, (1839-1899).
Lars Hjortsberg (1772-1843), leading man a large part of the 19th century.
Emilie Högquist, (1812-1846), leading actress in the 1830s-1840s.
Elise Jakobsson-Hwasser (1831-1894), leading lady 1860s-1880s.
Gerda Lundequist, tragedienne; leading Shakespeare and Ibsen interpretator (career peak 1890s-1920s).
Sara Torsslow (1795-1859), tragedienne, career peak 1820s-1830s.
Ulrik Torsslow, (1801-1881) one of the greatest Swedish actors in the 19th century.
Henriette Widerberg, (1796-1872), leading singer 1820-1837.
Jeanette Wässelius, (1784-1853), leading singer 1800-1820.
Carolina Kuhlman, (1778-1866), leading lady and first premieractress 1800-1833.

20th century

Anders de Wahl (1869-1956), leading actor, from 1900s-1940s
Inga Tidblad (1901-1975), leading lady, from 1920s-1960s
Lars Hanson (1886-1965), leading man; Strindberg and Shakespearian actor, from 1900s-1960s, over 120 parts
Olof Winnerstrand (1875-1956), great character and comedy actor, from 1910s-1940s, with 119 parts
Tora Teje (1893-1970), leading tragedienne, career peak 1910s-1940s
Anders Henrikson (1896-1965), great character actor, from 1910s-1960s
Märta Ekström (1899-1952), great character actress (from 1920s-1940s)
Gunn Wållgren (1913-1983), leading actress; Ibsen, Strindberg and Chechov interpretator, from 1930s-1980s
Anders Ek (1916-1979), leading actor, from 1940s-1970s
Georg Rydeberg (1907-1983), leading actor, career peak 1950s-1970s
Jarl Kulle (1927-1997), leading actor and musical theatre actor; 1950s-1990s.
Anita Björk (b. 1923), leading lady, from 1940s-2000s; over 100 parts since 1943
Stellan Skarsgard (b. 1951), leading actor excelling in classic plays from 1972-88

References

Georg Nordensvan, "Svensk teater och svenska skådespelare".

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern

DRAMATEN - The Royal Dramatic Theatre (official website)
Dramaten's current repertoire.

Coordinates: 59°20′00″N 18°04′37″E / 59.333333, 18.07694

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