{"id":370,"date":"2021-12-13T22:01:11","date_gmt":"2021-12-13T22:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teatraspastatas.lithuaniantheatre.com\/en\/?page_id=370"},"modified":"2022-02-02T09:54:47","modified_gmt":"2022-02-02T09:54:47","slug":"efemeriska-infrastruktura-isnykusios-vilniaus-scenos","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/teatraspastatas.lithuaniantheatre.com\/en\/apie\/efemeriska-infrastruktura-isnykusios-vilniaus-scenos\/","title":{"rendered":"Ephemeral Infrastructures: The Extinct Stages of Vilnius"},"content":{"rendered":"

For more than a decade we have been talking that Lithuania lacks spaces suitable for theatre plays and performances. Up until now we can\u2019t believe how few new places for drama, dance, and musical theatre have been built or customized during the three decades of our independence. Also, it is not common to remember that many of the spaces that once housed theatre today have been adapted for other purposes or completely swept from the face of the earth.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are quite a few places as such in Lithuania. Of course, mainly in the capital, where the first public theatre in Lithuania was established and where buildings have been built, reconstructed and customized over the last few centuries, some of which have become temporary shelters for theatres, and others as representative cultural spaces of the state.<\/span><\/p>\n

Main city buildings dedicated to city theatre<\/span><\/h3>\n

Performances were widespread in Vilnius as early as the 16th century. At that time, local amateur and touring professional troupes appeared in the Palace of the Great Dukes, in the house noblemen (in the M\u00fcller Hall of the Sapiegos Palace on St. John’s Street, in the house of S.Jasinskis in Verkiai), in the streets, squares, courtyards (Sarbievijus courtyard near the current Presidential Palace), at the Town Hall as well as in the former fish market behind it. At the end of the 18th century, when the touring troupes attracted a lot of local interest, they started talking about the need for a Vilnius city theatre. The first public theatre in Lithuania was founded in 1785 by Voicech Boguslavski. There were still no theatre buildings in Vilnius, so many of the performances were performed at Oskierki Palace (now Klaip\u0117dos St.7), and a few years later they moved to Radvilos Palace (now Did\u017eioji St.10), the stage of which was then called the Great or Ka\u017einskis Theatre.<\/span><\/p>\n

By that time, Boguslavski’s troupe had been active for only five years. In 1795, a new troupe was brought together by Dominik Moravski and his wife, Marija Moravska, both coming from Poland. Since then, the Vilnius City Theatre has been operating intermittently until the beginning of the 20th century, although it didn\u2019t always have its own stage. In 1810, the war governor of Vilnius, Mikhail Kutuzov, approved a project of the Vilnius City Theatre created by the medicine professor and opera author Joseph Frank, but realizing that its implementation would take time, proposed to install a small theatre in the northern part of the first floor of the Town Hall. Performances had taken place here before, and the working conditions were better than elsewhere \u2013 it was not cold in the winter, and the hall was famous for its excellent acoustics (severely damaged by the redevelopment for theatre purposes in 1845).<\/span><\/p>\n

From 1823 to 1845, performances took place at the Town Hall on and off, and in 1844, after the city Duma went elsewhere and the building was reconstructed (a stage, auditorium, lounges were installed), a German opera led by Wilhelm Schmidtkopf moved here a year later. The Vilnius City Theatre operated at the Town Hall until 1915, and later, until the 1920s, performances in the hall of the building were organized by various Polish troupes.<\/span><\/p>\n

As early as 1869, it was decided that the Town Hall premises were not suitable for theatre performances. The book \u201cThe Old Vilnius Town Hall\u201d describes the observations that \u201cthe stage is very small, the entrance to the gallery leads to the same narrow wooden stairs that led to the attic. The gallery under the vault is also very narrow, the stairs to the lounges are wooden and narrow, and the stairs leading to the theatre are too narrow for the public to leave.\u201d However, due to a shortage of funds, the discussion of the city authorities on the construction of a new theatre did not lead anywhere. Only in 1900, the Great Hall of the Vilnius City Theatre was installed in the house of Izaokas Sma\u017eenevi\u010dius, on the Georgijus Avenue (today Gedimino ave. 22). It was agreed that the Vilnius troupe would act there for twelve years, but four years later the building was hit by a common problem of the times \u2013 a fire. The hall burned down, along with uninsured decorations, costumes, actors’ belongings. It was a big shock to the Vilnius City Theatre. The performances returned then to Town Hall.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Vilnius City Theatre shared a hall with a Polish troupe and various amateur groups, so not being able to use the stage for its own needs made it lose a significant part of its potential income. Eventually, the city government decided to fix and properly customize the City Hall (now the Philharmonic Hall) to other theatre performances, but just a month after its renovation, in the fall of 1910, it caught fire. The search for a place to build new premises began. Luki\u0161k\u0117s Square was chosen, where a circus was based at that time, but the final decision on the construction was not being made for a long time, because the soldiers hoped to build a departmental war church there, on the corner of current Vasario 16th Street and Gediminas Avenue. In 1914 the city authorities decided that the square would accommodate both a theatre and a church. In the last days of May, the Vilnius City Board, risking not receiving any funding at all, decided to build a city theatre instead of a Russian-approved one, dedicated to the cultural needs of all the city’s ethnic communities. However, soon World War I broke out and the plan to build a new theatre was forgotten.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were two Winter Theatres in Vilnius (at the Town Hall and Sma\u017eenevi\u010dius House) and a Summer Theatre in the Botanical Garden (now the Bernardine Garden). But the plays where shown not just there. Then, as today, the events took place in the Philharmonic Hall (then called the Great City Hall), the Lithuanian Russian Drama Theatre (then the Polish Pohulianka Theatre), the \u201cVaidila\u201d Theatre and the premises of the current Lithuanian National Drama Theatre, then owned by the Polish Music and Theatre Society \u201cLutnia\u201d. Then, unlike today, Liejyklos st. 4 (now a residential complex) was home to the \u201cQuid pro Quo\u201d theatre and the \u201cHelios\u201d Cinema in Vilnius Street 3 \u2013 home to Vilner Trupe, one of the world’s most famous Jewish theatre troupes. The culture of Jewish theatre in Vilnius at that time was very strong, many professional Jewish plays were shown in the premises of the current \u201cL\u0117l\u0117\u201d Theatre, as well as in the current Tolerance Center on Naugarduko Street. For some time, the famous Vilner Trupe was located in a wooden circus building in Luki\u0161k\u0117s Square.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Vilniaus valstybinis \u017dyd\u0173 dramos teatras, 1941 m. Vilniaus regioninis valstyb\u0117s archyvas<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alternative stages for \u201calternative\u201d theatres<\/span><\/h3>\n

When built, the circus building, unlike the drama theatre spaces, was thought not for locals but exclusively of touring artists. The circus was kicked out of the Cathedral Square and moved to the Luki\u0161k\u0117s Square due to the unbearable smell of horse manure. A temporary pavilion was built in 1880, where, according to the press, a gigantic premiere of a circus performance from France took place. At the very end of the 19th century, the pavilion of an agricultural exhibition, which stood in the corner of Luki\u0161k\u0117s Square, was adapted for the circus. A little later, a new wooden building was built for the circus in the centre of the square. In order to maintain it, many security measures were taken: horses were not allowed in the circus (they were brought to the space an hour before the event), as well as hay and other flammable items. A spare fire engine and a water barrel were brought in, and 24-hour firefighters assigned. Unfortunately, it is difficult for historians to tell how long the building was in operation and for what reason it was demolished.<\/span><\/p>\n

From the end of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century, a number of performances, especially puppet and puppet theatre, was performed in private houses and apartments of wealthy artists. It is interesting that in the former Puppet and Marionette Theatres on the Great and Small Pohulianka Streets, women artists were far more active. The drama theatre seems to have been dominated by male directing since ancient times. In this context, it is interesting to single out the priorly mentioned M.Moravska, who managed the theatre at the Town Hall for one year (there were not enough funds to last longer) and who in those times managed to get permission from Tsar Alexander I\u00a0 <\/span>in Vilnius to perform only in Polish language. Lithuanian performances, which could only take place in secret, were shown where the puppet theatre also spread \u2013 in the artists’ apartments.<\/span><\/p>\n

Theatres in the Soviet era: large and in prestigious venues<\/span><\/h3>\n

After the occupation of Lithuania by Soviet Russia in mid-20th century, many spaces were adapted or built in Vilnius for state theatres operate up to this day. One such are the premises in Arkli\u0173 Street, where today the \u201cL\u0117l\u0117\u201d Theatre and the State Youth Theatre are located next to each other. The latter settled on Arkli\u0173 Street only in 1982, but found its first shelter in the current premises of the Lithuanian Theatre, Music and Film Museum. Here there was a theatre decoration warehouse, a rehearsal hall and administration. Also, the works of famous directors were shown here, including E. Nekro\u0161ius’ first performance of \u201cTaste of Honey\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, not all Soviet era theatres survived. In Gediminas Avenue, in the premises of the business centre at the intersection of Vilnius and Jogailos streets, cinemas operated for some time (pre-war \u201cHelios\u201d, later \u2013 \u201cPergal\u0117\u201d). After occupying Lithuania in 1946, Soviet Russia ordered the building to be turned into a drama theatre \u2013 each republic was required to have a theatre in which ideological content charged performances were to be performed in Russian. Interestingly enough, the reconstruction work was carried out by German prisoners, by whose hands many building projects still standing in the capital to this day were completed back then.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Russian Drama Theatre, the precursor of the current Lithuanian Russian Drama Theatre, in which Roman Viktiuk worked, acted Monika Mironait\u0117 (precisely here she played the famous role of Nora in L. Luri’s performance \u201cA Doll\u2019s House\u201d) and in which many plays were created not by specific directors, but craftsmen sent from Moscow, operated until 1986. This is when Eugenijus Volis, the then theatre supervisor decided to begin reconstruction of the theatre. After being persuaded the manager agreed to abandon autocracy\/monocracy in the theatre and leave the building as part of a commercial service centre. Over time, the reconstruction plans changed: only the conference room was planned to be left for theatre purposes, and eventually even that was gone. Thus, the Russian Drama Theatre, which then temporarily, for several years moved to the Pohulianka building, did not return to the reconstructed one and up to this day stays located on Basanavi\u010diaus Street.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the reconstruction, the premises of the former Russian Drama Theatre were demolished, and the hall on the site of the current arcade with revolving doors was destroyed. Only four exclusive mask sculptures adorning the facade of the LRDT have been saved.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not everyone knows that the people crossing Vilnius Street, which has now become Vilnius Alley, into Gediminas Avenue, leave the former theatre premises. However, many of those born in the years of independence still remember the Trade Union Palace on Mount Tauras\/Tauras Hill, the site of a former cemetery<\/span><\/p>\n

(it is said that the builders excavated the remains of the people when laying the foundations) were built in 1963, and only completely demolished in late 2019. The building on the hill was designed by the Soviet government in Vilnius due to the lack of a larger hall that could accommodate 1,000 spectators. The situation needed to be fixed quickly and inexpensively, so the task was entrusted to the city’s then architect Vladislovas Miku\u010dianis. Without any public competition, the architect initiated the construction of a new space, following the model of the Palace of Culture in Nizhny Tagil in Russia.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the Workers Union building, a small and big hall were set up for public performances. Theatre critic R\u016bta Oginskait\u0117 remembers how any of them were suitable for acting: \u201cthe stage of the big hall was too high, the first-row spectators sat stretching their necks to see more than just the artists’ feet. And generally \u2013 what\u2019s the point to play for a thousand spectators, when the last queues are almost a kilometre away… Only there not always was a thousand, really. In addition, the circular lobby on the second floor had a door leading to a spacious dance hall, where the dancers of the palace rehearsed, and during the weekends there would be dance nights for the public. And if those doors opened, dance music would sometimes get in from there during the performances. However, the strongest theatrical impressions of that time are still from the plays seen in that awkward, perhaps oversized hall and stage of the Workers Union Palace. At that time, we wouldn\u2019t think of any inconveniences.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The first performances of the Youth Theatre were shown in the Great Hall of the Trade Union Palace, and the creative activity of the famous Dalia Tamulevi\u010di\u016bt\u0117’s famous ten began here. The only theatre with a thousand seats in Vilnius (the second largest was the Great Philharmonic Hall with 678 seats) hosted a tour of the Union’s theatres. When the youth theatre moved to the building on Arkli\u0173 Street, the professional theatrical activities of the Workers\u2019 Union calmed down (the amateur groups remained). Ten years later, after declaring Lithuania’s independence, the building was privatized. At that time, a variety of institutions were located there, over 70 of which were registered at V.Mykolaitis-Putinas Street: unions, associations, societies, companies, clubs, etc. Before the fire, there was a cinema and a library on the ground floor, the Oskaras Kor\u0161unovas Theatre (the famous performance \u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d) , and the Gytis Ivanauskas Theatre rehearsed here, also the Silva Krivickien\u0117 Theatre Studio \u201c\u0104\u017euolynas\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, there are plans to build a National Concert Hall on the site of the demolished building \u2013 it should accommodate cultural events of various scales and styles. Not everyone is happy that a building reminiscent of their nostalgic youth was demolished. Not everyone is satisfied with the design of the future building and\/or the planned business model. Ernestas Parulskis wrote about this place, noting an exceptional situation when a privatized space was returned to the hands of the people of Vilnius: \u201cAlthough disgustingly chewed-off, Tauras hill still belongs to the citizens. And it still has its greatest value \u2013 in fifty years, future Vilnius residents will be able to demolish what we build and get around to doing something else if they want to.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

News during Independency: theatre can flourish anywhere<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Pastatas A\u0161menos g. 8, 2001 m. \u0160altinis nuotraukos.vilnius21.lt<\/p><\/div>\n

After declaring independence and the beginning of a formation of non-governmental performing arts field, performances began to be shown in many spaces. Already in the 1990s, the theatre activities briefly took place in A\u0161menos Street, where the Oskaras Kor\u0161unovas Theatre and the theatre \u201cAtviras Ratas\u201d (\u201cOpen Circle\u201d) are located today. Exhibitions were shown and parties held in the gallery \u201cLangas\u201d, opened by Saulius Pilinkus and his colleagues, also later a music club operated on the gallery\u2019s ground floor. In this space, entertaining shows and open rehearsals of future plays with spectators were organized by the students of the Lithuanian Academy of Music.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Medicinos bibliotekos sal\u0117. Aut. Beata \u017dukien\u0117<\/p><\/div>\n

The events hall of the Lithuanian Medical Library, located on Ka\u0161ton\u0173 Street, behind \u017demait\u0117 Square, did not close its doors to plays either, even though its space wasn\u2019t adapted to this. Its premises were rented by Dalia Ibelhauptait\u0117’s Bohemians (now Vilnius City Opera), the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, and not a while ago the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre staged a play, according to Regina Vai\u0161vilien\u0117, an adviser on information dissemination, having staged the premises earlier on. \u201cThe acoustics of the hall are excellent, just that the space is quite abandoned \u2013 the Ministry of Health does not spare funds for a proper reconstruction yet,|\u201d notes the long-term employee.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the most interesting discoveries and losses of the performing arts during the period of independence is the Theatre Arena, which started operating in 2009 and was renamed the \u201c\u016akio Bankas Theatre\u201d Arena. Its operations ceased in 2016 with the demolition of a building that had stood for thirty years. On Olimpie\u010di\u0173 st., near the Sport\u2019s palace, the Ice Palace built in 1986, and after Lithuania regained its independence was transformed into a basketball arena where Vilnius \u201cLietuvos Rytas\u201d would play. It is difficult to trace the change of the owners of the building today, but it is known that during the crisis of 2008 the space was managed and kept \u201cpreserved\u201d by the subsidiary \u201c\u016akio\u201d bank. Producer Valdas Petreikis and his colleague David Afarjanc saw prospects of the huge building, on the site of which it was soon planned to build apartment buildings. Getting support of the founders of well-known independent theatres, in 2009 they rented a building, carried out cosmetic repairs and started organizing events. The first performance on the new stage was \u201cCarmen\u201d by the And\u017eelika Cholina Dance Theatre. The decade-long retrospective of the Oskaras Kor\u0161unovas Theatre (OKT) was shown here shortly afterwards, after which the OKT \u201cset roots\u201d in the Theatre Arena, which offered a large stage and a 1000-seat stalls \u2013 performances gathering an audience of several hundred spectators without any difficulties where shown here for a while.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Teatro arena (2013) Aut. G Travels<\/p><\/div>\n

The Theatre Arena, maintained for seven years by sponsors and space rent, housed independent theatres (OKT, ACH, \u201cUtopia\u201d, \u201cIdioteatras\u201d), individual governmental and non-governmental plays and concerts, commercial performances, conferences (TEDx) \u2013 about 120 events were shown throughout a year in the multifunctional Theatre Arena. \u201cTechnically, I consider the project a success, because having planned three years of operation at the beginning, we worked for as many as seven,\u201d says V. Petreikis. \u201cOn the other hand, the construction company that bought the building and was planning to replace it with prestigious apartments demolished it so quickly and without any consideration that we did not manage to implement our last events season. The conditions of such an end were unexpected and not so nice\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Asked whether we have spaces today that could be similarly adapted for use, V. Petreikis says that he does not see such: \u201cIt is currently impossible to find a building in Vilnius that would not only offer a suitable space, but also meet the technical requirements. The Theatre Arena building was very suitable for events. It had adequate heating and ventilation systems, a solid roof that could withstand the weight of structures hung from it. As the primary purpose of the building was public mass events, there was enough space for spectators, a caf\u00e9, toilets, etc.\u201d<\/span> The producer notes that the coping model he and his colleague devised is not exclusive: in Switzerland, for example, it is common for large buildings to be converted to be used for cultural purposes for a few years or several years.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is fascinating to realize that each period of Lithuanian history is characterized by unique stories of theatre buildings. It is great to know that when walking through the central streets of Vilnius, we often pass by buildings that once housed important theatre scenes. It is slightly sad to realize why some of them have lost their cultural purpose. However, saddened by the victories of catastrophes and materialistic values over the need for higher culture, one can sometimes close their eyes, breathe in a little romance and get to notice that the stationary infrastructure inhabited by the theatrical world becomes as ephemeral as art itself \u2013 one day it\u2019s there, and another \u2013 already in the memories of the ones who experienced it.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For more than a decade we have been talking that Lithuania lacks spaces suitable for theatre plays and performances. Up until now we can\u2019t believe how few new places for drama, dance, and musical theatre have been built or customized during the three decades of our independence. Also, it is not common to remember that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":24,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-370","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teatraspastatas.lithuaniantheatre.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teatraspastatas.lithuaniantheatre.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teatraspastatas.lithuaniantheatre.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teatraspastatas.lithuaniantheatre.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teatraspastatas.lithuaniantheatre.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=370"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/teatraspastatas.lithuaniantheatre.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/370\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1276,"href":"https:\/\/teatraspastatas.lithuaniantheatre.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/370\/revisions\/1276"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teatraspastatas.lithuaniantheatre.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teatraspastatas.lithuaniantheatre.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}