The Royal Box and balcony foyer at the Old Stage is newly restored for the sovereign’s jubilee

12.09.2022 I More news

Photo credit: Maria Albrechtsen and the Royal Danish Theatre.

The Queen was able to enter into a completely newly renovated Royal Box when the jubilee was celebrated at the Royal Danish Theatre on 10 September. The Royal Box’s Chambers and entrance area, as well as the ornate Balcony Foyer overlooking Kongens Nytorv that theatre visitors have access to, have undergone an extensive restoration so that the historic spaces now appear in their original form. The areas, which are unique cultural and historical architectural gems, complement the Old Stage’s impressive auditorium, where the “Muses’ Ceiling”, proscenium and decoration on the balconies and walls were renovated in 2019.

Three foundations – VILLUM FONDEN, Aage and Johanne Louis-Hansen Fonden and Knud Højgaards Fond – have joined forces to support the project so that the Royal Box, the Royal Chambers and the Balcony Foyer could be ready to present to the Queen and the audience as a gift for the royal jubilee.

“The foundations’ support for the necessary restoration at the Old Stage has been overwhelming. Their obvious commitment to the project is of great value to the Royal Danish Theatre, but just as much to the many guests from Denmark and abroad who will visit the Old Stage’s Balcony Foyer, one of the most atmospheric spaces we have here, for years to come,” says Stage Director, Kasper Holten.

The renovation of the historic spaces has been completed in close collaboration between the Royal Building Inspector and the Royal Danish Theatre with help from the National Museum of Denmark and numerous specialists in the field.

The Royal Danish Theatre’s Old Stage at Kongens Nytorv was built in 1872–74 following the model and historical style of the great European theatre buildings of the 1800s, and the building was listed in 1985.

The Royal Chambers are painted with delicate and light features inspired by Pompeian decorations. The ceiling is decorated with the royal monogram and blue medallions painted with winged cherubs like the four seasons and the walls are covered with silk tapestries. The entrance to the Queen’s Chambers and vestibule is richly decorated with marble-imitation walls in various shades and a ceiling with Greek key borders and flower vines. The Royal Box is decorated simply in red and gold.

The Balcony Foyer has been created in a Renaissance style. The coffered ceiling contains figurines and ornaments in stucco on a gilded base. Three large crystal chandeliers and gilded elements line the walls and ceiling. The panelled walls are decorated with marbling and intarsia, and the finish of the painted decorations in the room, by Danish standards, is very high. The space is decorated with busts of Danish theatre greats, and in the centre of the space in front of the middle window is a copy of Bissen’s marble statue of Johanne Luise Heiberg, which was donated to the theatre in 1892.