The Deva Art Theater celebrates, today, 113 years since the first show performed on the stage of the cultural edifice

On this occasion, this afternoon, from 6:30 p.m., an anniversary plaque will be unveiled at the theater premises, an event followed, at 7:00 p.m., by the show “Interludes” by Eugene O’Neill, directed by Alexander Hausvater. Entry to the show is free, with advance reservation at the Theater Agency.

The leadership of the Hunedoara County Council, together with the manager Mihai Panaitescu and the entire team of the Art Theater, are waiting for you at this special event for the local community and for the cultural life of Deva and Hunedoara county.

Short history:

113 years ago, the Deva Art Theater was known as the City Theater (Városi Színház). The city of Deva was part of Hunedoara County, Austro-Hungarian Empire at that time.

On the site of the former local Redut, demolished in 1910, the building that currently houses the Deva Art Theater was erected in less than two years. At the time, most of the funds for the works came from public donations.

The building was built in the Hungarian Art Nouveau style inspired by the Viennese Secession. This architectural masterpiece, today on the list of historical monuments, was designed by the famous architect couple Komor Marcell and Dezső Jakab, who specialized in the construction of synagogues and concert halls throughout Europe.

On April 23, 1911, the building was put into use as the Municipal Theater (Színház), when Váradi Antal’s play, entitled The Prologue, was presented in the auditorium. After that, the operetta Obsitos, by Emerich Kalman, was performed. It should also be mentioned that, for a while, it functioned as a cinema called Urania, where the first silent films from Hunedoara County were shown.

Over time, the cultural institution had several names, in the different stages of its existence: the City Theatre, the Song and Dance Ensemble, the Stage Theatre, the Arta Theatre, the State Stage Theatre, the Magazine Theatre, the Dramatic Art, the Deva Municipal Theatre, the Hunedoara County Theater and, currently, the Deva Art Theatre.

Today, the theater has 400 seats, it is a repertory theater with a permanent troupe of actors and with technical equipment worthy of the times we live in, but also with an impressive track record of its own productions in contemporary and classical drama (130 productions in the last 13 years).