Martin Nürenbach

Martin Nürenbach
Born unknown
Germany
Died 1780
Tavastia, Finland

Martin Nürenbach, or Nurembach (unknown – 1780), was a German acrobat, actor, dancer, tight-rope-dancer and theatre director, active in Sweden, Norway and Finland. He is known as the founder of the first theatre in Norway.

Biography

Nürenbach was the son-in-law of the theatre director-couple Carl Gottfried Seuerling and Margareta Seuerling and brother-in-law of Charlotta Seuerling. He is listed as a member in the Stenborg Troupe in a passport to Uppsala in 1767, and 1767–68 as a member of the Seuerling troupe. He was then active as "dancing master of the city" in Gothenburg, before he performed and instructed pupils in acrobatics and dance in companionship with "The Worldfamous Madame Stuart" from Scotland in Oslo in Norway in July 1770. In the end of 1770, he was a member of a Norwegian theatre troupe. In 1771, he was given permission to open the first theatre in Oslo, and during the 1771–1772 season, he was director for the first theatre house to offer plays in Norwegian by Norwegian actors in Norway. Previously, the Norwegian theatre troupes all played as travelling theatres. Unfortunately, the names of thes actors are unknown. This theatre closed down in 1772 after only one season, when the theatre-ban from 1738 was reintroduced in Norway, but has its place in the history of Norway as its first theatre, and the act for which Nürenbach is famous. In 1780, the Amateur Theatre Det Dramatiske Selskap replaced it, but Oslo and Norway had to wait for a permanent theatre until 1826 when the first version of the Christiania Theatre (first under a different name) was founded by Johan Peter Strömberg.

In September 1773, he can be found in Stockholm, where he made such a success as an acrobat in the Humlegården Theatre at the Stenborg Troupe that the troupe had to build new places to get place for the audience. He performed after every play, and also acted, as in the role of Harlequin 8 October. After this, "Nürenbach with spouse" accompanied the Stenborg troupe to Finland. Later, he bought the privilege to play theatre in Finland from Petter Stenborg in companionship with the actor Beckman. After this, his fate is unknown. In 1774–80, they would have been the only theatre in Finland. In 1781, his companion Beckman was in Stockholm and accused Nürenbach for abandoning him and taking all his actors from him; the court statement described Nürenbach as "No longer present in the Kingdom". He was to have died in Tavastia in Finland in late 1780.

See also

References