Christiania Theatre

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Christiania Theatre or Kristiania Theatre was Norway's finest stage for the spoken drama between October 4, 1836 (opening date) - September 1, 1899. It was located at Bankplassen by the Akershus Fortress in central Christiania (today's Oslo), in Norway. It was the first lasting public theatre in Norway and the national stage of Norway and of Oslo during the 19th century.

[edit] History

Christiania Theatre was the first long term public theatre in Oslo. Since the 18th century, there had been several attempts to start a public theatre in Oslo; between november 1771 to february 1772, public theatre was played by Norwegian traveling actors in the court house led by Martin Nürenbach an actor from the Swedish theatre troupe of Margareta Seuerling and her husband, but this did not last, and although Det Dramatiske Selskap (The Dramatic Club) performed plays in Gevaexthuset, a building used for concerts since the 1760s, from 1780, this was a private affair for the upper classes and not a public theatre. The first public theatre was instead to be the theatre of the Swede Johan Peter Strömberg, who opened in 1827, which was also to be the beginning of the Christiania theatre; after Strömberg had to give it up in 1828, it was taken over by Danes, who founded the Christiania Theatre after the Strömberg theatre burnt down in 1835.

Christiania Theatre only employed Danish actors during its first history, which it was criticized for; the reason given was that there was not an acting school in Norway and that the Norwegian actors was therefore not good enough. The Danish troupe was eventually mixed up with Norwegian actors after the employment of Laura Gundersen in 1849, and in 1856, the theatre promised to employ native actors; in 1872, Norwegian became the stage language. The theatre continued to be the national stage of Norway and of the capital until 1899; the foundation of the first Norwegian theatre in Oslo, Kristiania Norske Theater, in 1852, was but a temporary rival, as it was forced to close down already in 1862.

Ibsen's famous play Peer Gynt premiered here in 1876, as well as a large number of important Norwegian productions, including productions of Norway's other national bard at the time, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson.

During the continued run of Peer Gynt a fire started on the performing night of January 15, 1877 that heavily damaged the theatre, but luckily the theatre could later be repaired. Christiania Theatre was during its years in use seen as Norway's national stage for drama until today's National Theatre of Norway; the s.c. Nationaltheatret, was built in 1899.