China Theater

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The Chinateatern (2005)

Chinateatern (also China Teatern , in Sweden often abbreviated to China ; dt. The Chinatheater ; internationally known as English China Theater ) is a Swedish cinema , musical , cabaret , revue and classical theater in Stockholm . The private theater, which opened in 1928, is located directly on Berzelii Park in the Norrmalm district in the center of the Swedish capital. It is one of the largest and most important revue theaters in the Scandinavian region.

history

Originated until the mid-1940s

The Chinateatern was planned between 1926 and 1928 on the initiative of the Swedish film producer Charles Magnusson and structurally integrated into the restaurant and entertainment establishment Berns Salonger , which had been in existence since 1862 . The architect Albin Stark , who was very interested in Chinese architecture , traveled to the Middle Kingdom in 1922 to get inspiration for his architectural style. These suggestions were also incorporated into the architectural design of the Chinateater. The architecturally special thing about the theater and cinema hall is that it does not have any supporting pillars and that a clear view is guaranteed from each of the around 1250 seats. The golden Chinese characters above the entrance to the theater allude to this: “The house with the perfect view” (or “the perfect view)”.

The artist and designer Ewald Dahlskog was responsible for the interior design, including wood and inlay work , whose work was combined with those of his colleague Einar Forseth and examples of Chinese art. 1485 stars were painted on the ceiling of the auditorium, which exactly reflect the starry sky of the equinox of 1870. The complete design of the Chinateater has been preserved in the original to this day.

The theater was officially opened on October 19, 1928 with the Swedish premiere of the silent film Anna Karenina with Greta Garbo , musically accompanied by a 17-man orchestra. Originally intended as a silent film palace, the Chinateatern developed as a popular venue for revues that had come into fashion as early as 1929 : The Swedish revue star Ernst Rolf relocated to China with his entire show program that year . In the following years the establishment developed into the largest and most important revue theater in Scandinavia, its importance as a cinema increasingly faded into the background.

Revue stars from all over Europe and the USA appeared in the Chinese theater, during the Second World War the now internationally known Revuepalast in neutral Sweden became a popular place to go for show acts from all over the world: as late as 1943, vaudeville artists such as the screwball couple Frank Melino and Barbara Randall, the pantomime and vaudeville artist George Campo or the juggler Béla Kremo , who came from Sweden, Denmark , Switzerland , the USA and other countries, together on stage with German artists and dancers from the Berlin Scala .

Mid-1940s to the present

Entrance to the Chinateatern and outdoor advertising (2010)

In the late 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, the Chinateatern became a popular venue for musicals . Revues, variety shows, cinema and shows by well-known international entertainers such as Maurice Chevalier and Lena Horne continued to be offered. While it only functioned as a cinema in the 1970s and early 1980s, went through a phase of decline and almost had been converted into an office complex with a parking garage, it became a venue for Swedish and international revues after a change of ownership in the mid-1980s and shows reactivated. It all started with a show by Swedish-born Hollywood star Ann-Margret , followed by Swedish entertainment shows and international musicals such as Cats , Grease and Der kleine Horrorladen .

In 1989 the theater was extensively renovated and restored after another change of ownership and is now used during the day as a location for business events and conferences with associated dining facilities. In the evenings it is still used as a cinema and theater.

To this day, the Chinateatern is also used by classic theaters in Stockholm as an alternative and secondary stage, including the Royal Dramatic Theater . Popular Swedish actors can also be seen on stage, for example Peter Haber in Der Revisor in 2002 . From 2009 to 2010 Rolf Lassgård appeared on stage in Hairspray as Edna Turnblad in the Chinateatern.

literature

  • Forskningsprojektet Dramatik på svenska scener 1910–1975 (ed.), Lennart Forslund (arrangement): Teater i Stockholm. 1910-1970 . Almqvist & Wiksell, Stockholm 1982 (= Acta Universitatis Umensis. Umeå studies in the humanities; 45), ISBN 91-7174-100-3 : (Swedish)

Web links

Commons : Chinateatern  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Sweden Has Faude But Few Names , Correspondents' Report, July 27, 1943, published in Billboard Magazine September 18, 1943, p. 24. (Accessed September 11, 2010).
  2. ^ See American Act Clicks In Swedish Theater , Correspondents' Report, July 31, 1943, published in Billboard Magazine August 7, 1943, p. 19. (Accessed September 9, 2010).

Coordinates: 59 ° 19 ′ 56.8 ″  N , 18 ° 4 ′ 24.5 ″  E