National Theater (Albania)

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Logo of the theater

The National Theater of Albania ( Albanian  Teatri Kombëtar ) is the most important theater in the country, located in Tirana .

history

In the " Kino -Theater Nacional" opened in Tirana in 1926, a play was also performed for the first time in July 1927. A theater company staged numerous plays there. Amateur groups of greater importance also existed in other Albanian cities, notably Shkodra and Korça .

The communist partisans , who fought against the Italian occupiers and the Wehrmacht during the Second World War , entertained each other with a play . The aim was to teach the fighters and residents of "liberated" areas patriotic and ideological, often also polemical and satirical in the spirit of the Communist Party . In addition to secret productions, Schiller's Wilhelm Tell was also performed by high school students from Tirana in order to spread the topic of resistance among the population. A group of partisans practiced in May 1944 in Përmet the play “Pleqtë dhe lufta”, which was performed at the Congress of Permët, at which a provisional government was formed. This group also performed his play elsewhere and became the Central Theater of the National Liberation Army . It is considered to be the first professional theater in Albania . A drama school was set up as early as November 1944 with the liberation . On May 25, 1945 the most talented partisans in Tirana became the State Theater . It was later referred to as Teatri Popullor (People's Theater) .

In the early years mainly pieces were performed that had partisan warfare as their theme. The repertoire was later expanded, but the ideological focus was retained. The theater in Albania was used by those in power for propaganda, political conviction and education. In 1967 a piece by Loni Papa, which was shaped by the Chinese Cultural Revolution , was shown. According to Robert Elsie, Albanian theater reached its peak in the 1980s. After the fall of the Wall, the house was renamed the National Theater.

In 2014, the Teatri Kombetar Eksperimental “Kujtim Spahivogli” experimental theater was opened in the southern wing . The "small stage" attached to the National Theater is named after a well-known actor. Drama schools are affiliated with it.

The theater in the center of Tirana, the "National Theater", which has been in use since the beginning, was given up in 2018 in favor of modern stages in the south of the city center.

Venues

National Theater - Circolo Italo-Albanese "Scanderbeg"

Old National Theater (north wing)

The building in the city center was built in 1938/39 by the architect Giulio Bertè and demolished in 2020. With its two identical wings and facades with simple shapes, it is a striking building, but it is in the second row behind the ministries on Skanderbeg-Platz . The modern architectural style differs significantly from the other public buildings in the area in the neoclassical style .

The building was planned and used in the early years as a cultural and sports center for the fascists in Tirana. A Milan company that used prefabricated elements was commissioned for the work - a novelty for the time. The "Circolo Italo-Albanese ' Scanderbeg '" comprised the cinema theater Savoja , a restaurant and various rooms for culture, relaxation and sport. The U-shaped building encompassed a narrow inner courtyard almost 100 meters long, which originally housed a small swimming pool . A colonnade previously closed the courtyard to the west and connected the two facades of the wings.

After the Italians left, the hall became the Kosova cinema . After the Communists came to power, the first show trials of “enemies of the state” took place there.

Protest against the demolition of the theater (2019)

In 2016, the monument protection for the building was lifted.

In 2018, Edi Rama's Albanian government announced that the theater was old and dilapidated. Since restoration cannot be afforded, the plan is to leave the property to an investor who can use a public-private partnership to build skyscrapers for other uses as well as a theater. This resulted in a two-year struggle between the government and opponents of the project, artists, monument conservationists and opposition politicians. The opponents demanded a restoration with public funds and resisted speculation and the allocation of public land to private individuals. In addition to the protests in front of the building, activists occupied the building to protect it. They also received support from international organizations such as Europa Nostra .

Police evacuated the building on a Saturday night in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and demolition began immediately. The action sparked protests in Tirana.

arTurbina

arTurbina

In July 2018, a new cultural center was inaugurated in a former factory building on the southern outskirts near the Great Park . Among other things, it has two modern theaters with 400 and 150 seats respectively.

National Theater (Albania) (Tirana)
old building national theater
old building national theater
arTurbina
arTurbina
Map of Tirana with the venues

literature

Web links

Commons : National Theater Albania  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gazmend A. Bakiu: Tirana e Vjetër. Një histori e ilustruar . Mediaprint, Tirana 2013, ISBN 978-9928-08101-8 , pp. 245 f .
  2. ↑ a b c Robert Elsie : Historical dictionary of Albania (=  Historical Dictionaries of Europe . No. 75 ). 2nd Edition. Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2010, ISBN 978-0-8108-7380-3 , pp. 440–442 (keyword theater ).
  3. ^ Agron Gashi: Fjalor enciklopedik shqiptar . Ed .: Akademia e Shkencave e RPSSH. Tirana 1985, keyword Teatri Partizan , p. 1079 .
  4. ↑ a b Mexhit Prençi: Fjalor enciklopedik shqiptar . Ed .: Akademia e Shkencave e RPSSH. Tirana 1985, keyword Teatri popullor , p. 1079 f .
  5. ↑ Josif Papagjoni: Rreth nesh. In: Teatri Kombëtar. Retrieved May 17, 2020 (Albanian).
  6. ↑ a b c Jora Kasapi: Map of the neglected buildings of Tirana. In: Preserving Tirana. Retrieved May 17, 2020 (see The National Theater ).
  7. ↑ Teatri Kombëtar Eksperimental “Kujtim Spahivogli” (TKE Spahivogli). In: Bashkia Tirana. Retrieved May 18, 2020 (Albanian).
  8. ↑ Theaters Kombëtar Eksperimental Kujtim Spahivogli në Tiranë. In: Visit Tirana. Retrieved May 18, 2020 (Albanian).
  9. ↑ a b Gjergj Erebara: Protesters Win 'Battle' in 'War' Over Albanian Theater's Fate. In: Balkan Insight . Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, February 26, 2020, accessed May 17, 2020 .
  10. ^ Rubens Shima: Teatri Kombëtar, kronika e shembjes së një godine të jashtëzakonshme. In: Panorama. June 15, 2018, accessed May 17, 2020 (Albanian).
  11. ↑ a b Gjergj Erebara: Protesters, Police Clash over Theater Demolition in Tirana. In: Balkan Insight . Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, May 17, 2020, accessed May 17, 2020 .
  12. ^ Armand Vokshi: Tracce dell'architettura italiana in Albania, 1925-1943 . DNA Editrice, Florence 2014, ISBN 978-88-903947-4-4 , pp. 138 f .
  13. ↑ Oriel Besi Turdiu: 'The Last Curtain Fall' - This Was the Theater! In: Exit. June 6, 2020, accessed June 8, 2020 .
  14. ^ A b Nora Sefa: Theater cast in Albania: "That is theft from the public" . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . July 26, 2019 ( faz.net [accessed May 18, 2020]).
  15. ^ A b Vincent WJ van Gerven Oei: Comment: The Rotten Birth of a Covid Dictatorship. In: Exit. May 17, 2020, accessed on May 17, 2020 .
  16. ^ National Theater of Albania, Tirana, Albania. In: The 7 Most Endangered Program. Europa Nostra, 2019, accessed May 17, 2020 .
  17. ^ Art-Turbina - a new stage for the Albanian artists. In: Radio Tirana International . July 3, 2018, accessed May 17, 2020 .
  18. ↑ arTurbina. In: EUMiesAward. 2019, accessed on May 17, 2020 .