Archive

25 October 2025 is European Historic Theatres Day, a day established in 2017 by Perspectiv, Association of Historic Theatres in Europe, to highlight the existence and work of historic venues throughout the continent.The seven years have seen a great response on social media with postings of some amazing theatre images (#EuropeanHistoricTheatres Day and #HistoricTheatresDay).

PERSPECTIV Conference & Meetings in Solothurn (Switzerland) Thursday 07.11.2024 

ConferenceattheSolothurnCityTheatre:"The art of sustainability and conservation" 

In Cooperation with PERSPECTIV and the German UNESCO Commission, ICOMOS Germany and the German Architecture Museum are organizing a conference on modernizing historical theatre buildings. The conference will be held at the German Architecture Museum (DAM) in Frankfurt / Main on 16 and 17 September 2021. It will also be streamed online. The conference language is German.
Please find the programme here.

The Apothecary (LO SPEZIALE)

Opera buffa by Joseph Haydn
Libretto based on Carlo Goldoni

We welcome as new member the Freiberg Theatre in Saxony. Inaugurated in 1790, it is the oldest continuously operating professional Municipal Theatre in Germany. Never destroyed by fire or war, but revamped repeatedly, its present fabric dates mainly from 1950 and the 1980s, making it an outstanding example of how history was used at the beginning and at the end of the GDR.
For the website, please click here.

Three PERSPECTIV member theatres have jointly produced the opera “Lo speziale” (The Apothecary), composed Joseph Haydn.

After 20 years of stabilizing and renovating the 16^th century arsenal on the island of Hvar, Croatia, the theatre on the first floor of this impressive building has been given back to the public.

Mark Fox of the Drury Lane Theatre in London has been elected President of PERSPECTIV. Having a member from the UK in this position is regarded as a strong sign for continued European cooperation even in times of Brexit.

The General Assembly of PERSPECTIV has awarded two honorary memberships for outstanding achievements in the field of historic theatres.
The laureates are Per Forsström (Sweden), former manager of Drottningholm Court Theatre and outgoing member of the Board of PERSPECTIV, where he has served since its creation in 2003, also as Treasurer or as President; and Carsten Jung (Germany), founding member and former Secretary-General of PERSPECTIV and manager of the European Route of Historic Theatres.

The Conference & Meetings 2019 will take place from 31 March to 2 April 2019 in Hanau (DE).
Hanau, near Frankfurt, preserves the 18th century spa ensemble Wilhelmsbad, complete with a theatre, the "Comoedienhaus" (playhouse) of 1781.

The Conference & Meetings 2017 of the European Route of Historic Theatres and the PERSPECTIV General Assembly took place in Berlin on 26, 27 and 28 April 2017.

The Conference & Meetings 2016 of the European Route of Historic Theatres took place in Stockholm (Sweden) from 16 to 19 June 2016.

The "Historic Theatres Week 2015" will take place on the German Route of the 
European Route of Historic Theatres from 14 to 26 September 2015.

Please find the programme in German here.

The European Route of Historic Theatres Conference 2014 took place in Warsaw (Poland) on 28 April 2015.

“THE HISTORY OF EUROPE – TOLD BY ITS THEATRES”

Six theatre museums from six different European countries have jointly created a touring exhibition that was on show from 2015 to 2018 in Warsaw, Copenhagen, Vienna, Munich, Ljubljana, Hanau, London, and Bellinzona.

The "European Route of Historic Theatres" Conference 2014 took place in Hvar 
on the island of Hvar, Croatia, on 22 May 2014.

The "European Route of Historic Theatres" Conference 2013 took place at Palais Auersperg in Vienna on 12 April. It is part of the project "European Route of Historic Theatres", supported by the Culture Programme of the European Union.

16 partners from 12 countries have joined forces for the period 2012-2017 to make the still existing historic theatres in Europe better known to the public. The title of the project is "European Route of Historic Theatres", and it is supported by the Culture Programme of the European Union.

On invitation of the City of Bayreuth (Germany), the Conference 2009 took place in the Franconian university and cultural city from October 2 to 5.

Part of the “European Route of Historic Theatres” 2007-2009 project was an opera production that toured to theatres on the route:

“Magic of the Theatre–Baroque Stage Technology in Europe” was the title of a travelling exhibition that toured along the European Route of Historic Theatres.

In 2007, PERSPECTIV and three partners started - supported by the Culture Programme of the European Union - to build the "European Route of Historic Theatres".