The Swedish Theatre (

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

: ''Svenska Teatern'' or ''"Svenskan"'') in Stockholm was, at the beginning of the 20th century, Sweden's largest dramatic theatre. It was located on Blasieholmen in central Stockholm. During its years in use, from 1875 to 1925, it was often considered as Sweden's foremost national theatre (as opposed to the

Royal Dramatic Theatre The Royal Dramatic Theatre ( sv, Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern, colloquially ''Dramaten'') is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama", founded in 1788. Around one thousand shows are put on annually on the theatre's five running stages. The the ...

)).

History

''Svenska Teatern'', or ''Nya Teatern'', was founded by the actor

Edvard Stjernström Carl Edvard Stjernström (11 October 1816 – 10 February 1877) was a Swedish stage actor and theater director. In 1833, he was accepted as a student at the Royal Dramatic Theatre. From 1842 to 1850, he was employed at Nya Teatern. He was t ...

(1816-1877). The new theater was erected after drawings by Ernst Jacobsson (1839-1905). It was in its time Stockholm's largest theatre, with 1,150 seats in its two stalls and four galleries (as a comparison, today's national stage

Dramaten The Royal Dramatic Theatre ( sv, Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern, colloquially ''Dramaten'') is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama", founded in 1788. Around one thousand shows are put on annually on the theatre's five running stages. The the ...

has around 700 seats for its main stage). The theatre was also equipped with the first rotating stage in Sweden and had its own

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

-ensemble that was known worldwide for its quality. The Swedish Theatre's productions were known for their luxurious decor and splendor. It was here that the original Swedish stagings of Henrik Ibsen's most well-known plays took place, as well as a number of great productions of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's and Anton Chekhov's dramatic works. Under the directorship of

Ludvig Josephson Ludvig Oskar Josephson (20 February 1832—29 January 1899) was a Swedish dramatist, actor and theatre manager. Biography Ludvig Josephson was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He was the son of Jewish merchant Salomon Josephson and Beata Levin. He wa ...

, it staged the premières of

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

's ''

Master Olof ''Master Olof'' ( sv, Mäster Olof) is a historical drama in five acts by the Swedish playwright August Strindberg. The story is about the reformer Olaus Petri's struggle against the Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also kno ...

'' in 1881 and ''Sir Bengt's Wife'' and ''Lucky Peter's Journey'' in the following year. Many of the world's greatest theatre companies came to perform at the Swedish Theatre, including Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theatre and Reinhardt's Deutsches Theater. The Swedish Theatre also toured abroad, with several productions in Moscow, Berlin, Paris, Oslo, and Copenhagen among others. Most of Sweden's greatest stage actors of the early 20th century were part of the theatre's ensemble:

Anders de Wahl Anders de Wahl, (9 March 1869 – 9 March 1956) was a Swedish actor. Biography He was the son of the music director Oscar de Wahl (1832–1873) and opera singer Anna Lundström de Wahl (1844–1889). de Wahl was a student at the Royal Dramat ...

, Gerda Lundequist, Tora Teje,

Inga Tidblad Inga Sofia Tidblad (29 May 1901 – 12 September 1975) was a Swedish actress. She was one of the most praised actresses in Swedish theatre during her lifetime. Biography Tidblad grew up in Stockholm as daughter to engineer Otto Tidblad and ...

, Gösta Ekman d.ä.,

Pauline Brunius Pauline Brunius, née ''Emma Maria Pauline Lindstedt'' (10 February 1881 in Stockholm – 30 March 1954 in Stockholm) was a Swedish stage and film actor, screenwriter and film and theatre director. She was the managing director of the Royal Dr ...

and

Hugo Björne Hugo Björne (4 February 1886 – 14 February 1966) was a Swedish film and theater actor. Biography Ernst Hugo Alexis Björne was born in Varberg in Halland, Sweden. He made his stage debut in 1907 and belonged to the acting company of Hjalm ...

were among others. After the death of the founder Edvard Stjernström, the theatre was run by his widow, the playwright Louise Granberg (1812-1907), from 1877 to 1880. The Swedish Theatre was for a long time the prime jewel in the theatrical empire of Swedish theatre manager

Albert Ranft Albert Adam Ranft (23 November 1858 – 5 October 1938) was a Swedish theatre director and actor. Biography Albert Adam Ranft was born in Stockholm, the son of Adolf Fredrik Ranft and Katarina Amalia Reijhell. His brother Gustaf Adolf Ranft ...

(1858–1938). The theatre was devastated in a fire on June 30, 1925. It was never rebuilt. Since then, the

has been seen as the country's main national stage.

References

Other Sources

* Lane, Harry. 1998. "Strindberg, August." In ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre.'' Ed. Martin Banham. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. 1040–1041. . * Meyer, Michael. 1985. ''Strindberg: A Biography''. Oxford Lives ser. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1987. . Former theatres in Stockholm 19th century in Sweden 19th century in Stockholm {{Sweden-theat-struct-stub