Arena Theatre
Encyclopedia
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
.
It was established in 1828 on the right bank of Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
. In the beginning it served as
an open summer amphitheatre
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
, hence the name Arena. The current building was built in
1898.
From its establishment till the end of the Second World War, many Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
,
Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n and German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
theatre companies performed there. After the war, the
theatre was gradually closed and served as a storehouse for state-owned Slovak Television.
The theatre was revived by a group of people around mime
Mime artist
A mime artist is someone who uses mime as a theatrical medium or as a performance art, involving miming, or the acting out a story through body motions, without use of speech. In earlier times, in English, such a performer was referred to as a mummer...
artist Milan Sládek, opening performance
took place in 1997. The repertoire consisted of several pantomimic performances, an annual
pantomimic festival took place there.
In 2003, renowned Slovak actor Juraj Kukura
Juraj Kukura
Juraj Kukura is a Slovak actor.Kukura studied acting at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava . Since 1985, when he emigrated to Germany, his films were banned by the regime until the end of Communist rule in the 1989. Thanks to his charismatic personality he usually portrayed strong,...
became managing director and focus of the
theatre shifted to drama. Performance The Goat or Who is Sylvia? was nominated
for DOSKY Award
Dosky Awards
The Dosky Awards are presented annually for achievements in Slovak theatre. The winners are selected by vote by theatre critics. Recent winners in the principal categories have been as follows.-Best Actress:...
2004 in categories best performance and best director, Juraj
Kukura and Emília Vášáryová
Emília Vášáryová
Emília Vášáryová is a Slovak stage and screen actress, referred to as the First Lady of Slovak Theater. During her over five decades long career, she has received numerous awards including the Meritorious Artist , Alfréd Radok Award , Czech Lion Award Golden Globet Award , and most recently the...
won the categories for best actor/actress. A year later,
monodrama Tiso was voted the best performance. Marián Labuda
Marián Labuda
Marián Labuda is a Slovak actor.In 1964 he graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava . He became member of the Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava. In 1967 he moved to the theatre Divadlo na Korze in the same city. Following its closure in 1971 he joined Nová scéna in Bratislava...
, who was performing
Jozef Tiso
Jozef Tiso
Jozef Tiso was a Slovak Roman Catholic priest, politician of the Slovak People's Party, and Nazi collaborator. Between 1939 and 1945, Tiso was the head of the Slovak State, a satellite state of Nazi Germany...
, won the prize for best actor.