Vasateatern
Encyclopedia
Vasateatern or "Vasan" (in English
: The Vasa Theatre) is a private theatre
in Stockholm
, Sweden
. It is located at Vasagatan
19-21 in central Stockholm.
It was built in 1886 and has for many years been Stockholm
's (and Sweden
's) main private theatre for comedies
and farce
s. In this genre it has a proud history: it was for many years (1895-1928) run by the legendary Swedish theatre manager Albert Ranft
who in the early 20th century staged a large number of French
and British comedy plays. He had personal contact with many of the most popular European comedy playwrights at the time, including George Bernard Shaw
, and successfully had a great number of contemporary comedy plays translated and staged in Sweden at "Vasan". Plays such as Oscar Wilde
's The Importance of Being Earnest
(Mr Ernst), Shaw's You Never Can Tell (Man kan aldrig veta) and Major Barbara
, and Jack Straw by W. Somerset Maugham
. Popular French
playwrights at the theatre included Georges Feydeau
, Georges Berr and Nancy & Jean Rieux.
Over the years it has produced most of the classic farces and comedies. Historic long-runners from the 1950s to the 1980s include Charley's Aunt
, the stage version of Cactus Flower and The Spanish Fly (Die spanische Fliege), the popular 1914 German farce by Franz Arnold and Ernst Bach.
Legendary Swedish
thespian Gösta Ekman (senior)
is said to haunt the theatre at nights.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: The Vasa Theatre) is a private theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. It is located at Vasagatan
Vasagatan
Vasagatan named after King Vasa is a common name for major streets in Swedish cities, the two most well-known being:*Vasagatan *Vasagatan *Vasagatan...
19-21 in central Stockholm.
It was built in 1886 and has for many years been Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
's (and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
's) main private theatre for comedies
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
and farce
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
s. In this genre it has a proud history: it was for many years (1895-1928) run by the legendary Swedish theatre manager Albert Ranft
Albert Ranft
Albert Adam Ranft was a Swedish theatre director and actor. Ranft debuted in the theatre company of Magda von Dolcke in 1876. He started his own travelling company in 1884 and was employed at Stora Teatern in Gothenburg from 1886...
who in the early 20th century staged a large number of French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and British comedy plays. He had personal contact with many of the most popular European comedy playwrights at the time, including George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
, and successfully had a great number of contemporary comedy plays translated and staged in Sweden at "Vasan". Plays such as Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
's The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at St. James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations...
(Mr Ernst), Shaw's You Never Can Tell (Man kan aldrig veta) and Major Barbara
Major Barbara (play)
Major Barbara is a three act play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907.-Setting:*London*Act I: Lady Britomart's house in Wilton Crescent*Act II: The Salvation Army shelter in West Ham...
, and Jack Straw by W. Somerset Maugham
W. Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham , CH was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and, reputedly, the highest paid author during the 1930s.-Childhood and education:...
. Popular French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
playwrights at the theatre included Georges Feydeau
Georges Feydeau
Georges Feydeau was a French playwright of the era known as the Belle Époque. He is remembered for his many lively farces.-Biography:Georges Feydeau was born in Paris, the son of novelist Ernest-Aimé Feydeau and Léocadie Bogaslawa Zalewska. At the age of twenty, Feydeau wrote his first comic...
, Georges Berr and Nancy & Jean Rieux.
Over the years it has produced most of the classic farces and comedies. Historic long-runners from the 1950s to the 1980s include Charley's Aunt
Charley's Aunt
Charley's Aunt is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. It broke all historic records for plays of any kind, with an original London run of 1,466 performances....
, the stage version of Cactus Flower and The Spanish Fly (Die spanische Fliege), the popular 1914 German farce by Franz Arnold and Ernst Bach.
Legendary Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
thespian Gösta Ekman (senior)
Gösta Ekman (senior)
Gösta Ekman, Sr. , born Frans Gösta Viktor Ekman, was a Swedish actor. Generally spoken of as Swedish theatre's most legendary stage actor, Gösta Ekman enjoyed a prolific stage career during his short life, becoming the first real star of Swedish theatre...
is said to haunt the theatre at nights.
External links
- Vasateatern.se (official site )