Historedia
EuropeEvent

Founding of the Royal Dramatic Theatre

When
1787–1788
Where
the building later associated with the Royal Dramatic Theatre; Sweden's new national stage for spoken drama; Bollhuset, the theatre's first premises
Episodes
3

Sweden's national stage for spoken drama, the Royal Dramatic Theatre (Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern), was established in 1788 by King Gustav III, when the Royal Theatre was split so the opera house became solely an opera stage and a new theatre was built for spoken drama.

Episodes

  1. 1787–1788 · the building later associated with the Royal Dramatic TheatreRistell's Spoken-Drama Theatre Collapses

    Fredrik Ristell's 1787 spoken-drama theatre in the same building was short-lived; in 1788 he fled Sweden to escape his creditors.

  2. 1788 · Sweden's new national stage for spoken dramaGustav III Splits the Royal Theatre and Founds Dramaten

    In 1788 King Gustav III established the national spoken-drama stage, splitting the Royal Theatre so the opera house became solely an opera stage.

  3. 1788 · Bollhuset, the theatre's first premisesTheatre Placed Under Royal Protection with Actor Self-Rule

    Gustav III became formal director, placed the theatre under Royal protection, and had actors rule by votes every fourteenth day under Academy supervision.

Background and detail

Background. A theatre of spoken drama had been founded by Fredrik Ristell in the same building in 1787, but it did not last long; in 1788 Ristell fled the country to escape his creditors, clearing the way for a royal establishment of a national dramatic stage.

Royal Establishment. In 1788 King Gustav III established Sweden's national stage for dramatic art (spoken drama). The Royal Theatre (Kungliga Teatern) was officially split in two, with the Royal Theatre—today the Royal Swedish Opera—becoming solely an opera stage, and a new theatre, Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern, was built specifically for spoken drama to distinguish it from the opera house.

Governance and Early Premises. The king became formal director, placed the theatre under Royal protection, and had it ruled by the actors themselves through votes every fourteenth day under supervision of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. During its first years the theatre occupied the old premises at Bollhuset.

People involved

  • Gustav III · King of Sweden; established the national stage and became its formal director
  • Fredrik Ristell · Founder of a short-lived spoken-drama theatre in the same building in 1787; fled Sweden in 1788

Sources

  1. Royal Dramatic Theatre Wikipedia, revision of 2026-04-30

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.