North Greece National Theatre - panoramio

The National (or State) Theatre of Northern Greece (Κρατικό Θέατρο Βορείου Ελλάδος), an institution promoting theatrical plays in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

and northern Greece, was founded in 1961 by Sokratis Karantinos, its first director. The Drama School and the Dance Theatre are integral parts of the National Theatre. The first base of the institution was the building of the

Royal Theatre (Thessaloniki) The Royal Theatre of Thessaloniki (Greek:Βασιλικό Θέατρο Θεσσαλονίκης) is the seat of the National Theatre of Northern Greece and one of the institution’s winter stages. It is located at 2, 30th October Avenue in Whit ...

but in 1962 was transferred to the current building. The complex of the Society of Macedonian Studies consists of three buildings. Megaron B', which hosts the theatre, was designed in early 1950s by Vasilis Kassandras, influenced by the

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées () is an entertainment venue standing at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. It is situated near Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from which it takes its name. Its eponymous main hall may seat up to 1,905 people, while th ...

. NTNG’s present institutional framework was established in 1994, with an Artistic Director and a seven-member Board of Directors who run the

Theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

, which is subsidized by the

Ministry of Culture and Tourism (Greece) The Ministry of Culture and Sports ( el, Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού και Αθλητισμού) is the government department of Greece entrusted with preserving the country's cultural heritage, promoting the arts, and overseeing sp ...

. With four indoor theatres and two open-air theatres, NTNG is one of the biggest theatre organizations in

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 with ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. Since May 1996, NTNG has been a member of the

Union of the Theatres of Europe The Union of European Theatres (UTE; french: Union des Théâtres de l'Europe) is an alliance of European public theatres. It serves to promote European integration through cultural interaction. It does intensive transnational theatre work compri ...

https://www.union-theatres-europe.eu
. In October 1997, the 6th Festival of the Union of the Theatres of Europe took place in Thessaloniki, and was a great cultural event for

as well as for Greece. NTNG is also a member of the International Theatre Institute and the Greek Theatre Centre for children and young people.

Activities

Its activity is not limited to theatrical productions but extends to cultural sectors such as education, literature and the arts through the organization of exhibitions, conferences, festivals, theatre-educational programmes and so forth. NTNG’s annual artistic programme combines in-house productions (including

Dance Theatre Concert dance (also known as performance dance or theatre dance in the United Kingdom) is dance performed for an audience. It is frequently performed in a theatre setting, though this is not a requirement, and it is usually choreographed and perf ...

), co-productions with other theatres, tributes and exchanges with important theatre organizations, as well as guest performances from Greece and abroad. In an effort to reach children and young people, NTNG promotes the activities of the Children’s Stage, which presents performances for schools and educational organizations, as well as educational programmes familiarizing pupils with the world and the art of theatre. In the last few years, NTNG has greatly developed its theatrical research and publishing activities. The Literary and Publications Departments provide theoretical support on specific fields related to the production while researchers and academics are able to access the theatre’s fully documented archive visiting its Digital Library or its dynamic website. In the ambit of the European Programme ‘Culture’, NTNG implemented a series of important projects (Among others, hosting of the events of the 11th and 12thPrize XII Edition - Program
official website of Europe Theatre Prize Europe Theatre Prize).

References

{{Coord, 40.6266, 22.9496, type:landmark_region:GR, display=title Theatres in Thessaloniki Art Deco architecture in Greece 1961 establishments in Greece