Puppet Theatre in Louny
Pod Cukrovarem 832, | |
show on the map | http://www.loutkove-divadlo.cz/ |
Important events
The first detached building of puppet theatre on the territory of the Czech Republic was built by the firm of Louny builder Hugo Katz according to the design by Otakar Polák. The construction works commenced in April of 1920 and a inauguration ceremonial took place already on 19th September. The first performance, a fairytale The King Ječmínek by Eugen Stoklasa was played a week later on 26th September, just after the building approval had been issued.
The present state of the theatre is a result of a reconstruction that took place in 1999 at the cost of the city. Static adjustments were carried out according to the design by Pavel Spisar from 1997.
People
History
The first puppet show in Louny took place in 1903 during a celebration of the Sokol movement. The success of the play the Kermesse in Hudlice encouraged puppeteers with their leader Jan Tragler to regular activity. They played first in a Sokol hall and taverns in Louny and surroundings, but when they founded the Puppeteers Company in Louny, they had construction of their own theatre in mind already. A plan for reconstruction of the building of an old slaughterhouse, for which they quickly managed to acquire the entire planned amount of 4 680 Crowns, was not possible to execute because of sanitary reasons.
The idea was revived after the First World War. The city donated a plot and building material from the abolished slaughterhouse to the company. The first detached building in the territory of the Czech Republic was built by the firm of Louny builder Hugo Katz according to the design by Otakar Polák. The construction works commenced in April of 1920 and a inauguration ceremonial took place already on 19th September. The first performance, a fairytale The King Ječmínek by Eugen Stoklasa was played a week later on 26th September, just after the building approval had been issued.
Apart of afternoon child performances, the puppeteers organized evening productions for adults, which were condemned to termination after a cinema had been opened in Louny in 1925. The originally planned budget of the construction, 80 000 Crowns, was exceeded over a half despite numerous donations. The members of the company had to take a credit and they succeeded in repaying the huge debt only twenty years after. In 1930, Josef Skupa, who performed in hotel U zastávky in favour of Louny puppeteers, helped with gaining money among others.
The theatre auditorium was decorated by rich decorative painting. The curtain was created by company member Josef Jakubka, an author of the majority of decoration of Louny puppeteers since beginning to the 1940s. It was necessary to reconstruct the theatre very often. Already in 1923, the floors were replaced, a year later, the ceiling of the hall and a needed extension of dressing rooms for dressing of the puppets was built on the side of the stage in the next year. It is possible to observe on the old photographs that the hall decoration was changing in the course of time as well. A need of further background increased in the course of time. A large extension to the existing building was considered from 1948 ad that was approved two years later. A low extension with a scene dock, dressing rooms and new toilets was built in 1951 and 1952 towards the direction of the river. A part of material was donated to the puppeteers, despite of that, it was necessary to acquire a part of the finances among other by selling a part of older puppets to the National Museum.
An extensive reconstruction was carried out in 1958, when the truss and roofing were replaced and the stage was modernized. A photograph from the course of reconstruction depicts a completely different appearance of the proscenium arch with rounded corners and an inscription the nation is in children above the stage from the original one.
Minor renovations of the theatre, especially of the stage and lightning technology were compelled by a new repertoire, new type of puppets or requirements of guests companies.
Cracks appeared in the theatre building in 1974 and the playing was stopped temporally. The State Institute for the Reconstruction of Historical Towns and Monuments (SÚRPMO) elaborated the survey of the building and a project of the renovation. The report stated among other that the theatre is probably built on a mound, which sink towards the river caused the cracks on the walls. A big problem was the high humidity in the building as well.
The theatre had to wait for the needed repair until 1978. General reconstruction that commenced in the spring should have endured for two or three years, but the theatre operated already in the end of the same year. The reconstruction brought about disappearance of the doors by the sides of the proscenium arch, the auditorium was given new facing from leatherette panels and new seats. Repairs of the stage and wiring still continued in 1979 and in 1980, the central heating was installed in the theatre by the District Building Company.
The present state of the theatre is a result of another reconstruction that took place in 1999 at the cost of the city (over 2.5 million of Crowns). Static adjustments were carried out according to the design by Pavel Spisar (GIS GEOINDUSTRIA Stříbro) from 1997. The theatre was provided with a new roof (roofing was replaced before in 1999 as well) and wiring and was insulated. A large modification was the building up of a forestage in front of the existing vertical proscenium arch. Windows and doors were replaced in 2008.
Present state
The ground floor building of the puppet theatre in Louny is located eastwards from the historic core of the city in the slope above the Ohří river. Its entrance is oriented to the west to the city; it is accessed through Pod Cukrovarem Street from Husova Street.
Originally, only an entrance bay and minor bays on the sides of the front facade protruded from the oblong plan of the original building. An extension from 1951–1952 enlarged the building furthermore in the north direction towards the river. The older part of the building is covered by a saddle and hip roof (with a low ventilation shaft above the auditorium in the original appearance), the extension by a low flat roof. A low prismatic tower with a lightning booth protrudes from the hipped end above the entrance facade being covered by a pyramidal roof. The entire building is based on a stone plinth. The facades of the older part are articulated by vertical rusticated pilasters and continuous cornices apart of doors and partially walled windows. There are doors in the middle of the side facade apart of the main entrance under the tower in the front facade. The facades are tri-coloured, yellow flats are complemented by red elements and white trims of windows and doors: there was originally a dark belt under the continuous cornices. There is a painted inscription the Puppet theatre on the front side of the tower.
The older part of the building had three parts in the interior: in front of the auditorium that occupied the entire width of the wing, an entrance hall with cloak rooms and a staircase into the lightning booth was located behind the doors. The stage that is partially cellared with background followed behind the auditorium. The entrance area was enlarged towards left with the extension, from where one can enter the hall through a corridor along the toilets ( originally the rear part of the auditorium was entered through doors from the vestibule). The corridor is followed by a room of the club and dressing rooms with a side entrance to the stage.
The oblong auditorium of 8 × 10 m size is slightly sloped towards the forestage. Another doors, an emergency exit, are located in the middle of the wall opposite to the entrance. The auditorium occupies a part of the truss, so the side parts of the ceiling are bevelled.
Nothing has been preserved from original remarkable painted decoration of the hall. Its present appearance is a combination of remains from the reconstruction from the end of the 1970s (leatherette panels) and reconstruction from 1999. During the latest, a forestage was built over the entire width of the hall in front of the proscenium arch ( of circa 4 × 2,5 m size).
A showcase in the side wall of the hall contains a puppet, seated in a wicker chair, of the founder of the theatre J. Tragler, which was brought to the stage by Kasperle on the occasion of Tragler’s 70th birthday.
The stage of circa 3,5 × 8 m size is cellared; the space under the stage is accessed through a iron staircase that is located in the rear on the left. There is an access from the basement that serves as a storage room under the trap in the front section of the stage (for puppets with conduction from below).
The hall has the capacity of 120 seats in the present days and concerts take place here apart of puppet shows. The owner of the building is the city of Louny.
Sources and literature:
– Městský úřad Louny, archiv stavebního úřadu, spis domu čp. 832 (loutkové divadlo)
– Šafr – Pacovský, Stálé loutkové divadlo v Lounech, Loutkář 4, 1919–20, č. 10
– Rudolf Bouček, Samostatné budovy našich loutkových divadel, Loutkář 21, 1934–1935, č. 3, s. 37–41
– 60 let stálého loutkového divadla v Lounech 1920–1980, Louny 1980
– Almanach spolku loutkářů v Lounech 1903–2003, Louny 2003
– Jiří Valenta (ed.), Malované opony divadel českých zemí, Praha 2010, s. 346 (autor hesla Jan Novák)
Tags: Interwar period, detached building
Author: Jiří Bláha
Jiří Bláha:
Kolowrat Theatre, South Bohemian Theatre, Jirásek's Theatre Česká Lípa, Town Theatre Český Krumlov, Palace Theatre in Nové Hrady, Palace Theatre in Litomyšl, A. Dvořák Theatre Příbram / The House of Culture, Oskar Nedbal Theatre Tábor, Lubomír Lipský Theatre, Municipal Theatre Turnov, Town Theatre Železný Brod, Revolving Auditorium in Český Krumlov, Chamber Theatre Prague, Kačina Château Theatre, Ta Fantastika (Black Light Theatre), Palace Theatre, Broadway Theatre, Studio Two, Palace Theatre Hluboká nad Vltavou, Na Slupi Theatre, Puppet Theatre in Louny, Tyl's Theatre Rakovník, Palace Theatre in Valtice, Palace Theatre in Žleby, Theatres and theatre projects by Joan Brehms, City Theatre in Mnichovo Hradiště, Revolving auditorium Týn nad Vltavou, Palace Theatre in Měšice, Quite a Great Theatre, Town Theatre, Municipal TheatreTranslator: Jan Purkert
Jan Purkert:
Vienna State Opera, Theatre of Bolek Polívka, City Theatre of J.K. Tyl, Kolowrat Theatre, Theatre of Puppets Ostrava, Minor Theatre, Theatre on the Balustrade, Rokoko Theatre, Highland Theatre, South Bohemian Theatre, Jirásek's Theatre Česká Lípa, Chamber Theatre Plzeň, Chamber Venue Aréna, Minor Theatre Liberec, Town Theatre Český Krumlov, Palace Theatre in Nové Hrady, Municipal Theatre Mladá Boleslav, Naive Theatre Liberec, Silesian Theatre Opava, West Bohemia Theatre in Cheb, Karel Pippich Theatre, House of Culture and Trade Unions (DKO), City Theatre Kolín, Tyl's Theatre Lomnice nad Popelkou, Spa Theatre Luhačovice, A. Dvořák Theatre Příbram / The House of Culture, Oskar Nedbal Theatre Tábor, Masaryk's House of Culture (MKD), Hálek Town Theatre Nymburk, Pištěk's Arena Theatre, Dr. Josef Čížek Town Theatre Náchod, Theatre of Music Olomouc, Polish House, East Bohemia Theatre Pardubice, Lubomír Lipský Theatre, Fráňa Šrámek Theatre Písek, Kolár's Theatre, Municipal Theatre Turnov, Alois Jirásek Theatre, Town Theatre Znojmo, Town Theatre Žďár nad Sázavou, Town Theatre Železný Brod, Jirásek Theatre Hronov, Municipal Theatre in Broumov, J. K. Tyl`s Theatre, Dusík Theatre Čáslav, Palace Theatre in Český Krumlov, Revolving Auditorium in Český Krumlov, Theatre in the Wallenstein Palace Garden, Chamber Theatre Prague, RockOpera Praha, Uranie Theatre, Provisional Theatre, Spirála Theatre, Hanka‘s House, Božena Němcová Theatre, Na Veveří Theatre, Ta Fantastika (Black Light Theatre), Theatre in Řeznická, Palace Theatre, Comedy Theatre, Broadway Theatre, Studio Two, Image Theatre, Diviš Theatre, Architectural competition for the design of the Czech national Theatre in Brno, 1910-1913, Flat Theatre of Vlasta Chramostová, Alfa Theatre, Pardubice Competition 1961-1962, Archa Theatre, The Drama Club, Ypsilon Studio, Competition for a new Czech theatre in Prague, 1922, Cinema the World, City Theatre Chomutov, Cinema the Czech Paradise, Na Slupi Theatre, The unrealized design of the Liberated Theatre in Prague (1926-1927), Puppet Theatre in Louny, Smetana House, Vrchlický Theatre, Theatre of Petr Bezruč, House of Culture Ostrava, German House, Culture House Ostrov, By Firemen Theatre, Soběslav Culture House, Tyl's Theatre Rakovník, Municipal House of Culture Sokolov, Drama Studio, Palace Theatre in Valtice, Beskydy Theatre Nový Jičín, Palace Theatre in Žleby, Na Kovárně Theatre, Theatre in the House of Catholic Journeymen in Ostrava, Smíchov Arena Theatre, Theatres and theatre projects by Joan Brehms, Theatre Behind the Fence, City Theatre in Mnichovo Hradiště, Revolving auditorium Týn nad Vltavou, Musical Theatre Hodolany, A. V. Šembera's Theatre, Chrudim Theatre, New Town Theatre, Competition for the Realistic Theatre of Zdeňek Nejedlý in Prague, Minor stage Zlín, Arena theatres in Prague, Provisional Theatre, Palace Theatre in Měšice, A studio Rubín, All Colours Theatre, Pidivadlo, Radar Theatre, Na rejdišti Theatre, Viola Theatre, The Small Venue, Town Theatre, Kotzen Theatre, Old Drapers‘ Theatre, Radek Brzobohatý's Theatre, German House, Na Orlí Theatre, Quite a Great Theatre, Passage Theatre, Czech Theatre at the Lower Side in the Kajetán House, New Czech Theatre in the Růžová Street, Theatre hall in the building of the Women’s Homes, Continuo Theatre - Švestkový dvůr, Klub Mlejn, Comoedien-Haus, Town Theatre, Palace Theatre Duchcov, Comoedien-Haus, Palace Theatre in Teplice, Theatre in the Thun Palace, Municipal TheatreAdditional information
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