Arbisteatern ''(The Arbis theatre)'' in the city of

Norrköping Norrköping (; ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Linköp ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, is the country's oldest

amateur theatre Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as f ...

stage, famous for productions where professional actors and amateurs work together.

History

Built in 1864, it opened in 1865. Several famous actors and actresses have made their debut or performed on the stage early in their career, most famously

Zarah Leander Zarah Leander (; 15 March 1907 – 23 June 1981) was a Swedish singer and actress whose greatest success was in Germany between 1936 and 1943, when she was contracted to work for the state-owned Universum Film AG (UFA). Although no exact record ...

. Many

plays Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

s and

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

have been produced in the theatre, but also

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

s and

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...

Gideon Wahlberg Gideon Wahlberg (18 June 1890 – 3 May 1948) was a Swedish actor, screenwriter, film director and theater manager. Wahlberg directed six films including '' South of the Highway'' (1936). Wahlberg was the theater manager of the Arbisteatern in ...

managed the theatre between 1918-1931 and 1933–1934, and many of his shows were also performed there. Between 1964 and 2001, Arbisteatern was the home of Norrköping's Operetta Society. In 2012, the theatre briefly closed but soon re-opened with new artistic direction.Official website
/ref>

Name

"Arbis" is an abbreviation of ''Norrköpings Arbetareförenings teater'', which means ''The theatre of Norrköping's worker society.''

References

External links

Official website
Theatres in Sweden {{Sweden-theat-struct-stub