history

Drama Theatre Skopje through the years

Beginnings

Drama Theatre Skopje is an institution that has 75 years of successful theatrical activity behind it. The beginnings are connected with the performance of the children’s puppet show “Siljan the Stork” on the puppet stage within the Macedonian National Theatre in 1946. In the next fifteen years, the nascent puppet stage developed as an independent theatrical entity outside the framework of the MNT.

Creation of a separate institution

The search for and definition of the final concept of theatrical activity, the definition of repertoire policy and stylistic-aesthetic theatrical directions is also reflected in the frequent renaming of the institution: Puppet Stage (1949), City Puppet Theater (1949), Youth Puppet Theater (1957/58) and Drama Theater Skopje (1965).

Scenes

It must be emphasized that DTS owes its recognition as a modern and innovative theater to Riste Stefanovski, who encouraged technical and artistic reorganization. Two separate stages were formed: Youth and Children’s Stage. In 1960, the evening stage also began operating.

Development

With the construction of a new separate building in 1965, the permanent acting ensemble and the administrative and technical staff, the theater began intensive development and breakthrough to the very top of the European theater map. DTS is included in the group of modern and innovative theater institutions, which are the harbingers of new stylistic and aesthetic theater directions. At the same time, DTS is a promoter of young playwrights and directors, who grow into worthy of respect.

Collaborations

The ambitious and exceptionally high-quality acting ensemble has collaborated with directors for the past 70 years: Slobodan Unkovski, Vladimir Milchin, Ljubisa Georgievski, Aleksandar Popovski, Sasho Milenkovski, Nela Vitosevic, Dejan Projkovski, William Woodman, Paolo Madzeli, Mata Milosevic, Brown Kazimierz, Miodrag Šaurek, Vito Taufer, Bora Drašković, Žarko Patten, Egon Savin, Krasimir Spasov, Gorčin Stojanović, Dino Mustafić, Vladlen Aleksandrov, Lilija Abadžieva and many others.

Today

Drama Theatre Skopje has a total of 83 employees. The professional artistic team consists of: 41 actors, 3 playwrights, 2 directors. An average of 7 premiere performances are prepared annually. DTS has two stages, a large stage (with a capacity of 357 seats) and a small stage (with a capacity of 100 seats). The annual attendance is more than 40,000 spectators.

In Macedonia and around the world

Drama Theatre Skopje has made many colorful guest appearances on the theater stages in Rijeka, MTF Vojdan Cernodrinski, Chamber Theater Festival Risto Šiškov and others. It has also performed on theater stages in the USA, Australia, Canada, England, Germany, France, Russia, Bulgaria, Albania, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries around the world.