On 16th February 2008, Hamlet will deliver Shakespeare's most famous line - "to be or not to be" - on the stage of Copenhagen's new theatre, the Playhouse. And when he does, there will be no question that the venue has been custom-built.
The main stage - the largest of three at the Playhouse - is designed to provide a one-second reverberation time, which is far superior to other halls that typically have a two-second reverberation time. "This is vital for a natural sounding performance," says Nikolaj Jensen, Technical Director for the clinet, the Royal Danish Theatre.
The new Playhouse will replace the 1931 building originally constructed to be both a theatre and concert hall. In addition to the main stage, which accommodates an audience of 650 people, the Playhouse has two smaller theatres with space for a total of 300 people.
Stunning view of both harbour and capitalThe Playhouse enjoys a convenient central location near the docks, offering both employees and visitors stunning views of the harbour and Copenhagen's city centre. And it offers first class modern facilities with plenty of space - both backstage and for auditions.
Almost half the building reaches out over the harbour so visitors can walk around the Playhouse and out onto the 150 metre-long boardwalk, which rests on Venetian-style, tilted pillars. The vista is enhanced by the neighbouring opera house, which dominates the landscape on the other side of the harbour fairway.
The keys to the Playhouse were delivered to the Royal Danish Theatre in October 2007, but the official opening is not scheduled until 16th February, when Hamlet, "Prince of Denmark", will tread the boards at the premier.Go behind the scenes at the Playhouse by clicking on the image gallery link in the Multimedia box on the right of this page.By Kathrine Schmeichel kats@cowi.dkPublished 08.11.2007