NørregadeTeatret will give its final performance on the 110-year-old Hylddalen outdoor stage in Maribo this month. The stage needs a costly renovation that Lolland Municipality says it cannot pay for.
DR reports that this month is the last time audiences can see theatre among the trees in Hylddalen in Maribo. The production Prinsessen holder fridag closes 110 years of performances at the site. NørregadeTeatret is the last company still using the stage.
According to DR, the venue needs a large and expensive renovation, with the uneven stairs and seating stands in particular need of repair. At the same time, audience numbers have dropped. The stage has hosted theatre and music since the early 1900s.
Frank Rubæk, theatre director at NørregadeTeatret, has staged productions on the outdoor stage since 1998. He told DR he finds the decision regrettable but understandable, since his company is the only remaining user and plays there only every second year. He said early Hylddalen productions drew between 10,000 and 12,000 spectators, while the theatre is now lucky to reach 4,000.
Martin Boesen (S) chairs the Children, School, Leisure and Culture Committee in Lolland Municipality and is deputy chair of NørregadeTeatret’s board. As reported by DR, he said the municipality must find savings of several hundred million kroner and therefore has to prioritize. He described the work as far from a cheap renovation of a place used only every second year.
Lolland Municipality’s culture pages state that NørregadeTeatret mounts a large outdoor production in Maribo every second year. The theatre’s own website lists Maribo as its base and Hylddalen as its outdoor stage.
Per NørregadeTeatret’s site, the company received egnsteater status in 2007. Its indoor venue in the town’s old power station was renovated in August 2011 with support from Lolland Municipality and the A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation. That indoor stage remains the theatre’s permanent home.
A gathering point in Maribo
Maribo resident Conni Bramsted Andersen told DR she has missed only one performance since NørregadeTeatret began playing in Hylddalen in 1998. She praised the productions and the actors the theatre has brought to the town. She described the stage as a gathering point every second year that draws visitors from near and far, and called it a historic place for Maribo.
DR reports that the stage itself will not disappear entirely, but the lack of renovation means its last users are closing down their activities there. NørregadeTeatret will continue as a theatre, just not on the Hylddalen outdoor stage. The town’s other cultural sites, including the Maribo Open Air Museum, are not affected by the decision.
Save up to 2,800 DKK on Your Electricity Bill
FindElpriser helps you switch electricity providers quickly and easily.
