Jonáš Záborský Theatre
Eastern Slovakia's regional theatre, playing drama and musicals across an 1881 house and a modern stage.
Touring companies had played in the rear rooms of the Black Eagle inn on Prešov's main street since the early nineteenth century. In 1878 the town council asked the Košice builder Michal Répászky to draw up plans for a proper theatre on the site, and the new house was ceremonially opened over three days in March 1881. Ján Török designed the interior, and the auditorium, with its boxes and balcony, held around seven hundred people.
A professional company was established in Prešov in 1944 and later took the name of the writer and satirist Jonáš Záborský. The theatre now runs three auditoria: the restored historical building on Hlavná, reopened after a major restoration carried out between 1994 and 2001 under the architect Štefan Mitrů, and the Main and Small Stages in the newer building on Námestie legionárov. Its repertoire mixes Slovak and international drama with musicals and work for younger audiences.
Highlights
- Historical theatre of 1881 by builder Michal Répászky
- Three auditoria: Historical Building, Main Stage, Small Stage
- Auditorium restored between 1994 and 2001
- Drama, musicals and family programming in Slovak
