The history of the Theater Museum in our country is a timeless adventure. For several years, the valuable collections of the Theater Museum were threatened by damage and indifference, while there are not a few times when its survival was put in jeopardy. Chronic problems, legal and economic issues, stagnation, endless suffering but also groundless solutions made up the unpleasant reality of this ark of modern Greek civilization.
After many years pending, the Central Council of Newer Monuments of the Ministry of Culture gave the “green light” to the definitive study for the restoration of the house of Alexandros Soutsos. The emblematic building is located at 47 Stadiou Street and is a building-evidence for the development of the commercial-historical center of the city during the second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. It is expected to host the archive and theater library of the Theater Museum. Now, the collection, the archive and the library have passed into the ownership of the Ministry of Culture, against the amount of 1,200,000 euros, allocated from the regular budget of the Ministry of Culture. It is the richest collection of theatrical material in Greece, which, among other things, includes theatrical publications and anecdotal plays or manuscripts, Greek and foreign theatrical publications and studies, archive of press clippings, theatrical and artistic magazines, scrapbooks, various publications of general artistic interest, posters performances, theater programs, the operettas of Theofrastos Sakellaridis, and even a letter from Nikitaras to Ioannis Kapodistrias. What stage are we in? What is planned to contain the spaces of the three-story neoclassical Stadiou street? Has the entire material belonging to the Theater Museum been recorded? With the collection that was housed in the Spiritual Center of the municipality of Athens, is there any progress and when is the Stadiou Street building expected to be ready?
The Theater Museum is an extremely rare case of a museum in its category, since most corresponding museums abroad have collections and archives of individual troupes.
— At what stage are we with the Theater Museum?
Before answering your question, I would like to clarify what Theater Museum means. What constitutes the Theater Museum? The answer is the museum collection -photographs of actors and performances, personal items of theater personalities, scenographic and costume models, plans for theatrical costumes and costumes, stage objects and accessories, portraits, etc.−, the archive -material from various types of theater, domestic and international festivals, conferences of artistic and academic interest that are evidence of works of all phases and genres of the world history of the theater – and the library – publications related to Greek and foreign theater, which date back to 1736, as well as a rich collection manuscripts from 1860 onwards. The collection, the archive and the library, in 2021, after purchase by the Greek Theater Study and Research Center-Theatrical Museum, became the property of the Ministry of Culture. From then until today, this material has been recorded and received the first care of our maintainers. We have already initiated the installation of the archive and the library in the house of Alexandros Soutsos, on Stadiou 47, which with its restoration will become an ideal space. For the theater collection as such we are very close to deciding where it will be permanently housed. At the same time, we are launching the transfer of the collection to a place where it will be possible to definitively preserve the objects.
— Is there any progress with the collection that was housed in the Spiritual Center of the municipality of Athens? Will it stay there or will other actions be taken?
With Kostas Bakoyannis we had worked together excellently and systematically to find places that could host the Theater Museum. We thought that the collection of the Theater Museum could also be exhibited in the Spiritual Center, with the availability and utilization of larger spaces – possibly the entire building or by adding some spaces – for its exhibition. It is clear – also due to the current institutional framework, given that since 2016 the collections of the Theater Museum have been declared monuments and are protected by the law for the protection of our cultural heritage – that the safeguarding and integrity of the collections is the responsibility and obligation of the Ministry of Culture and its competent services. The Theater Museum is an extremely rare case of a museum in its category, since most corresponding museums abroad have collections and archives of individual troupes. As I have already told you, we are very close to finding the place where the Theater Museum will be permanently housed, a suitable place that belongs to the Ministry of Culture.
— Has the collection been enriched? Has everything that belongs to her been recorded? And if so, tell us about some of them.
The collection is always suitable for enrichment. But what is urgent today is its definitive housing and exhibition. When this is completed, it is sure to be a trigger for new donations of theatrical relics that will frame the core of the collection, which was assembled by Yiannis Sideris. The Department of Conservation of Ancient and Modern Monuments of the Ministry of Culture has already carried out the photographic documentation, preventive maintenance and packaging of all the exhibits, the archive and the equipment of the Theater Museum. It has a complete photographic archive and detailed catalogues. This is a very rich collection, unique in our country, which contains a multitude of objects interwoven with entire decades of theatrical performance. I list, completely indicative, some of the museum objects: the program of the first representation of “Antigone”, on the occasion of the royal weddings of 1867, with the maiden use of the Herodion as a theater. The program of the “Oresteia” of the Royal Theater in 1903, during which the “Oresteiaka” were noted. The original masks from the performance of “Prometheus Bound” in 1927, in the context of the First Delphic Festivals of Angelos and Eva Sikelianos. Figures from the shadow theater of Evgenios Spatharis, but also costumes of the “Chickens” by Yiannis Tsarouhis, from the famous performance by Karolos Koun, in 1959.
— What does the Theater Library, which remains stored at ERT’s premises, consist of? And why can’t it be visited until the works on the neoclassical Stadiou street are completed?
The Theatrical Library, which will be housed in the house of Alexandros Soutsos, consists of thousands of volumes, dating from 1736, as well as plays and manuscripts dating back to 1860, as well as the largest collection of press clippings related to the theater. As an example, I mention that it includes theatrical publications and works, even anecdotes, theatrical and artistic magazines, albums and works of general interest. The primary material of the 19th and early 20th centuries has, in fact, been digitized, and includes 26,915 digital items. The other part of the collection, the audio-visual documents, which exceed 1,000 hours, is also very important. You realize that this is by far the most important ark of publications and documents about the Greek theater. And it can only be visited in facilities which, on the one hand, will meet all the protection and safety standards of the material, and on the other hand, will provide every facility for their study. This will only be ensured when the building is restored and this valuable archive is relocated there.
— When is the building expected to be delivered? And on what factors does its delivery depend?
The Central Council of Newer Monuments gave a positive opinion, two months ago, on the restoration study. The project is planned to be included in a financial program, until the autumn, when the relevant department of the Ministry of Finance will launch the procedures for the project of its restoration. After many years of abandonment, this landmark of modern Athens is on the road to restoration, so that it not only emerges in its original glorious form, but also acquires a new use, worthy of its history and the desire of Alexandros Soutsos.
— Finally, can you clarify for us what will happen to the famous actors’ dressing rooms? Will they be exhibited there or elsewhere? And I mention this because you stated that only part of the collection will be exhibited there.
The house of Alexandros Soutsos, a typical example of an urban classicist building, with rich morphological decoration, is sufficient to host the archive and the library, as it should, in addition, have a reading room for the scholars and suitable work spaces for the staff. In this space it is planned to display some emblematic acquisitions of the collection, for example costumes, primarily to emphasize its synergy with the library, but in no case is the space suitable for the dressing rooms, which require a lot of space to be properly displayed.
