Théâtre Royal de Namur, Italian-style theatre building in Namur, Belgium
The Théâtre Royal de Namur is a theatre in Namur, Belgium, built in 1863 to designs by city architect Thierry Fumière. Its yellow limestone facade has a projecting entrance with Doric columns and two niches holding statues by Antwerp sculptor Jan Van Arendonck: Euterpe with her lyre (Music) and Thalia with her mask (Comedy). Inside, the horseshoe-shaped hall has four balconies set back in successive tiers, a Bayreuth-style orchestra pit for sixty musicians, and a red-and-gold stage frame.
Namur's regency council decided in 1822 to build a hall devoted solely to stage arts and music; the first, smaller and uncomfortable theatre opened in 1824. It burned in 1860 when scenery fell onto a gas lighting pipe, and lightning struck the site in 1862. The present building by city architect Thierry Fumière opened in 1863, burned again in 1867, and was restored by Julien-Étienne Rémont, reopening on 27 September 1868. Thierry Lanotte and Pierre Lamby restored it fully between 1994 and 1998.
The theatre stages around sixty performances a season — theatre, dance, circus, concerts and children's shows — and produces or co-produces five to six of them. It holds the official double recognition of the French Community of Belgium as a cultural centre and a dramatic centre. Since 2013 it has hosted Benoît Poelvoorde's Intime festival, a literary festival held at the end of August.
The main hall sits on the first floor, reached from the vestibule by two small side staircases; the box office and cloakroom are on the ground floor. The Studio, a former understage space beneath the main stage, hosts smaller shows and young-audience performances. The building stands on place du Théâtre, in the city centre.
The main hall's painted ceiling is a trompe-l'oeil sky made of 42 pieces of canvas glued onto a ribbed wooden shell, painted in 1867 by Brackman, decorator of the Brussels theatres. It hangs from the roof frame and rests on no supporting structure.
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