Aleksandër Moisiu Theatre
Durrës's professional theatre, opened in 1953 in the city's Palace of Culture on the central square.
The Aleksandër Moisiu Theatre is the professional drama company of Durrës and one of the oldest theatre institutions in Albania. It opened on 11 January 1953 with Fatmir Gjata's comedy The Girl from the Village, directed by Pandi Stillu. The company is named after Alexander Moissi, the actor of Albanian descent who became one of the best-known figures of the German-language stage in the early twentieth century and who was born in Trieste to a family from Durrës.
The theatre works from the city's Palace of Culture on the central square, a post-war building with a colonnaded front that also houses other cultural bodies; Roman baths lie beneath the site, uncovered when the area was developed. Later refurbishment improved the acoustics and the stage machinery. The repertoire mixes Albanian and international drama with comedy, concerts and programmes for children and young people, and the company also takes part in national theatre festivals and touring exchanges.
Highlights
- Opened in January 1953 with a play by Fatmir Gjata
- Named after the actor Alexander Moissi, of Durrës descent
- Housed in the colonnaded Palace of Culture on the main square
- Roman baths lie beneath the building's site
