Preseren Theatre Kranj
Kranj's repertory theatre on the main square, host of the Week of Slovenian Drama festival.
The theatre began in 1945 as an amateur company in Kranj and took over the Ljudski dom, the town's People's House on Glavni trg, shortly afterwards. It turned professional on 8 February 1950. Ivan Vurnik drew up the plans for fitting out the auditorium, and the building was altered in the process: the triangular gable came off, a second storey went on, and both the hall and the stage were enlarged. Political decisions closed the professional company in 1957.
Political pressure closed the professional company in 1957 and it worked on an amateur footing until 1989, when actors were engaged again. Today the theatre plays on a main stage of 241 seats and in the medieval Skrlovec tower nearby, mounting about five premieres a season alongside revivals and tours. It also runs the Week of Slovenian Drama, the national festival of new Slovenian playwriting, which has been held in Kranj each spring since 1970.
Highlights
- Main auditorium of 241 seats, with 178 in the stalls and 63 in the balcony
- Second venue in the medieval Skrlovec tower on the edge of the old town
- Host of the Week of Slovenian Drama, the country's festival of new native writing
- Five premieres a season alongside revivals and visiting productions
