National (formerly Royal) Theatre

Aghiou Konstantinou and Koumoundourou Sts, 1891-1901
renovation 1930-32, expansion 1960-63 and creation of Nea Skini 1970

Architect:
Ernst Ziller (1837-1923)
Renovation architect 1930-32:
Anastasios Metaxas (1862-1937)
Expansion architect 1960-63:
Vassilios Douras (1904-1981)
Architect of the Nea Skini:
Manos Perrakis (1937-)



The Royal Theatre which was inaugurated on 24 November 1901, was built on the initiative of George I with funding from the London-based Greeks Stephanos Rallis, Korgialenios and Evgenidis.
The small, out-of-the-way lot with its steep slope had an adverse effect on the building and its future. Among the repercussions of its inadequate dimensions was the 1000-seat hall (400 stalls, two balconies and four official boxes), which is too small for a prestige repertory theatre, as well as the cramped facilities for the public. The monumental facade is not well served by having to be placed right against the sidewalk.
The synthesis of the volumes gives organic expression to the various functions of the theatre (stage, hall, public areas etc.) in accordance with the German tradition. This also holds for the organisation of the floor plans. In exploiting the small lot, priority was given to the stage, and then to the audience seating. The main stage was 18 m. wide and 12.50 deep, which was why it was enlarged and modernised several times.
In creating the seating area for the audience, Ziller used his academic eclecticism which was closer to baroque than was the case in his older theatres. The facades of the theatre were designed along similar lines. They also had a plasticity disproportionate to the scale of the building, a fact that becomes particularly visible in the fragmented façade of the Royal Theatre both in Ziller’s initial design and in the extension of 1961-63 in a similar style, which was based on designs by architect Vassilios Douras.
The facades are sub-divided into three zones in a similar style, with the exception of the monumental section of the main entrance. The 2-m. high base is in rusticated plastered masonry with unadorned windows; while the trunk has windows and pediments, Ionic pillars and a parapet with turrets. The building is crowned with a cornice and parapet.
The façade is dominated by the projecting central section with six Corinthian columns that stand on an equal number of piers in the base and support the interrupted entablature of the roof, in accordance with the Roman model of Hadrian’s library.
The most significant interior changes were effected in 1930-32 and in 1970. The former works concerned the interior renovation of the building, which was then changed from Royal to National, and its stage was improved. The renovation was by architect Anastasios Metaxas in the spirit of modern classicism with Art Deco features and the modernisation of the stage area was based on a design by set designer Panos Aravantinos and architect Constantinos Doxiadis.
Thirty years later, a rehearsal area in the 1960-63 wing was converted imaginatively by architect Manos Perrakis into a flexible Nea Skini ("New Stage") for the National Theatre, which could be transformed into a theatre in the round or an Elizabethan stage, or indeed any other shape through movable sets and the use of independently positionable seats.

TRANSPORTATION