The National Theatre of Greece () is based in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

History

The first permanent theatre in modern Greece had been the Boukoura Theatre from 1840, but it had difficulty in managing its operation and stood empty for long periods of time. The National Theatre of Greece was decided to be founded in 1880, with a grant from King George I and Efstratios Rallis to give theatre a permanent home in Athens. The foundations for this new project were laid on Agiou Konstantinou Street and the building itself was designed by the famous Saxonian architect noted for many other public buildings in Athens at the time,

Ernst Ziller Ernst Moritz Theodor Ziller ( el, Ερνέστος Τσίλλερ, ''Ernestos Tsiller''; 22 June 1837 – 4 November 1923) was a German-born university teacher and architect who later became a Greek national. In the late 19th and early 20th ...

. Despite problems getting the building done in time, it was eventually completed in the late 1890s and in 1900 it was opened as Royal Theatre. Angelos Vlachos was appointed as the Director. The National Theater began to expand its operations and in 1901 a drama school was opened. The same year, the Royal Theatre opened its doors to the public with a monologue from Dimitris Verardakis' play ''Maria Dozapatri'' and two Greek one-act comedies: Dimitris Koromilas' ''The Death of Pericles'' and Charalambos Anninos' ''Servant Required''. Following the first performance the theatre began to expand in popularity among Greece's upper and upper middle classes and staged more productions. One of the most famous of the period was

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Gree ...

' ''Oresteia'', staged in a prose translation by Yorgos Sotiriadis. The production sparked a long linguistic conflict, between the adherents of

katharevousa Katharevousa ( el, Καθαρεύουσα, , literally "purifying anguage) is a conservative form of the Modern Greek language conceived in the late 18th century as both a literary language and a compromise between Ancient Greek and the contempor ...

and the modern Demotic Greek. Students from the University of Athens' School of Philosophy, incited by their classicist professor, Yorgos Mistriotis, marched down Agiou Konstantinou in an attempt to halt the performance. The episodes that followed, known as the Oresteiaka, resulted in one death and ten injuries on November 8, 1903. In 1913, upon the assassination of King George, the Royal Theater was bequeathed to his son, Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark, who was a painter and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

. The theatre entered into a period of decline, occasionally playing host to foreign theatre companies, until 1932. It remained closed until was re-founded, as ''National Theatre'', under an act of parliament signed by the education minister, Georgios Papandreou, on May 30, 1932. The first plays staged were the

' ''Agamemnon'' and

Gregorios Xenopoulos Gregorios Xenopoulos ( el, Γρηγόριος Ξενόπουλος; December 9, 1867 – 14 January 1951) was a novelist, journalist and playwright from Zakynthos. He was lead editor in the magazine ''The Education of Children'' (Η Διάπλασ ...

' comedy ''O theios Oneiros''. The first actor team includes

Katina Paxinou Katina Paxinou ( gr, Κατίνα Παξινού; 17 December 1900– 22 February 1973) was a Greek film and stage actress. She started her stage career in Greece in 1928 and was one of the founding members of the National Theatre of Greece in ...

, Aimilios Veakis,

Eleni Papadaki Eleni Papadaki (Greek: Ελένη Παπαδάκη, 4 November 1903 – 22 December 1944) was a celebrated Greek stage actress who was murdered during the Dekemvriana events, accused for political reasons by the communists, of having collaborate ...

and Alexis Minotis. First theatrical director was placed

Fotos Politis German educated Greek stage director Fotos Politis (Greek: Φώτος Πολίτης), 1890–1934, was one of the most prominent figures in the revival of the ancient Greek tragedies in the 20th century. A literary and theater reviewer and playw ...

and from 1934 Dimitris Rontiris. In 1939, the

Greek National Opera The Greek National Opera ( el, Εθνική Λυρική Σκηνή, ''Ethniki Lyriki Skini'') is the country's state lyric opera company, located in the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center at the south suburb of Athens, Kallithea. It is a ...

( el, Εθνική Λυρική Σκηνή) was founded as part of the National Theatre. In 1955, the NT contributed in the foundation of the ''Epidaurus Festival'' (as part of the

Athens Festival Athens – Epidaurus Festival is an annual arts festival that takes place in Athens and Epidaurus, from May to October. It is one of the most famous festivals in Greece. The festival includes musical, theatrical and other cultural events. History ...

), devoted to the ancient drama. Notable (general) directors of the NT, through its history, include

Ioannis Gryparis Ioannis or Ioannes ( el, Ιωάννης), shortened to Giannis or Yannis (Γιάννης) is a Greek given name cognate with Johannes and John and the Arabic name Yahya . Notable people with the name include: * Ioannis I, Tzimiskis, Byzantine Empe ...

Kostis Bastias Kostis ( el, Κωστής) is a hypocorism of the Greek name Konstantinos ( Constantine). Notable people with the name include: Given name *Kostis Adosidis Pasha (1818–1895), Prince of Samos * Kostis Chatzidakis (born 1965), Greek politician * ...

Angelos Terzakis Angelos Terzakis ( el, Άγγελος Τερζάκης; 16 February 1907 – 3 August 1979) was a Greek writer of the " Generation of the '30s". He wrote short stories, novels and plays. Life He was born in Nafplion in 1907 and lived there until 1 ...

Yórgos Theotokás Yiorgos Theotokas ( el, Γιώργος Θεοτοκάς), formally Georgios Theotokas (Γεώργιος Θεοτοκάς; 27 August 1905 – 30 October 1966), was a Greek novelist. Biography He was born in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey ...

, Dimitris Rontiris,

Elias Venezis Elias Venezis ( el, Ηλίας Βενέζης) (March 4, 1904 - August 3, 1973) is the pseudonym of Elias Mellos (), a major Greek novelist. He was born in 1904 in Ayvalık (Kydonies) in Asia Minor and died in Athens in 1973. He wrote many boo ...

, Alexis Minotis,

Nikos Kourkoulos Nikos Kourkoulos ( el, Νίκος Κούρκουλος; December 5, 1934 in Athens, Greece – January 30, 2007) was a highly respected Greek theatrical and film performer, one of the most talented and recognizable actors in Greece of modern time ...

Scenes

The National Theatre includes the ''Central Scene'' (performs classical repertoire), the ''New Scene'' and the ''Peiramatiki Scene'' (Experimental). From 1991 there is also the '' Kotopouli Scene'' and from 1995 the '' Paxinou Scene''.

Buildings

The Central Theatre

The first home of the National Theatre was commissioned by King George I and designed by the architect

. It was built between 1895 and 1901. The Royal Theatre occupied the historic neo-classical building on Agiou Konstantinou Street from 1901 to 1908, but went bankrupt and was forced to close. The building was renovated in 1930 and 1931 under the supervision of the set designer Kleovoulos Klonis. Since 1932 the building has been the home of the National's Central Theatre. In 2009, the complete renovation of the building was completed.

Children's Theatre

The theatre is situated in the basement of the Sikiarideio Hall. It was designed to operate as a music hall, but soon became a cinema. Its ownership was taken over by the Ministry of Culture in 1987, and since 1993 the National Theatre has staged children's productions there.

Drama School

The

National Theatre of Greece Drama School The National Theatre of Greece Drama School ( GNT Drama School) was founded in 1930, since when it has operated in tandem with the National Theatre of Greece. In its 75-year history a number of its graduates have gone on to become major actors and ...

(GNT Drama School) was founded in 1930, since when it has operated in tandem with the National Theatre of Greece.

External links

*
Vasilis Fotopoulos, ''100 years National Theatre'', Latsis Group 2001
(e-book) {{coord, 37, 59, 05, N, 23, 43, 31, E, region:GR-A1_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title 1900 establishments in Greece 1903 riots 1903 in Greece Tourist attractions in Greece Theatres in Athens Greek culture Renaissance Revival architecture in Greece