Dramaten
The Royal Dramatic Theatre was founded by King Gustaf III in 1788. The purpose was to establish a creative environment that would contribute to boosting the national and cultural identity of his subjects.
One hundred and thirty years later the theatre was moved to the exquisite Jugend building, designed by Fredrik Lilljekvist, that is situated on the shore of Nybroviken bay in central Stockholm. Several contemporary artists – including Carl Milles, Carl Larsson and Prince Eugen – contributed to the interior design of the elegant theatre in gold and marble.
The building was inaugurated on February 18, 1908, with a performance of August Strindberg’s Master Olof. Thanks to directors like Olof and Gustaf Molander, Alf Sjöberg and Ingmar Bergman, Dramaten is now famous throughout the world.
The building itself has a mixed and fascinating history. In the beginning, Dramaten shared the premises with, for example, a restaurant, an antique shop, an art gallery and offices.
But more than anything else Dramaten is of course a theatre, and over the years it has undergone several major changes. During the war, the Lilla Scenen annex was added at the former Sibyllan cinema. In the 1970s the former set building studio was converted to the Målarsalen stage and the drama school premises were turned into Fyran, now the Tornrummet stage. In the mid-1980s a fifth stage, Lejonkulan, was added and at the end of the 1990s the experimental stage Elverket opened at the former electricity board control room in Linnégatan.
Today, Dramaten is a living dream factory firmly supported by its six corner stones, which allow for a repertoire and vision characterized by great diversity, variation and flexibility suited to meet the demands of a modern audience.