While New York Theatres are Closed, in Albania, They're Tearing Them Down

The COVID-19 pandemic has shuttered the entire New York theatre industry. Shows remain closed with the beginning of 2021 being the reported time when they might reopen. But while performers and crew eagerly await the opportunity to get back to work, at least their theatre spaces will exist when they do. In Albania, that’s not the case because local authorities just demolished one of its most historic.

A two-year mission ended last week when local authorities in Tirana tore down the National Theatre.

Known as “Teatri Kombëtar”, the building stood for over 70 years. Until its demolition, it was the first construction of a cultural and sports complex that preserved its cultural function. The materials and techniques applied in this construction were considered innovative for Italy and beyond at European level.

Some of that innovation included a material called "Populit" panels, a new material composed of mineralized wood fibers with high strength concrete, was thermally and acoustically insulating.

According to reports,

After its opening, the "Savoy" Theater, known in the 1940s as the Theater of Kosovo, after 1945 (at the end of World War II) as "the National" and "National Theater" in modern times, became the center where some of the most important cultural institutions would be established in post-war Albania. Given these historical facts, this architectural complex is part of the country's cultural and national identity.

The struggle to keep this historic theatre standing began in 2018. Prime Minister Edi Rama, decided to demolish and replace the theater with a new building.

Artists from all over the country wrote letters to protest the action and pleaded with Rama to reconsider or redesign the space so that the National Theatre could be left standing.

Rama replied, “protesters don't love development" and that he considered the theatre demolishing, “70 years too late.”

In March 2020, the National Theatre of Albania was selected by Europa Nostra among the 7 most endangered monuments in Europe. Sadly that wasn’t enough to save the theatre.

In the early hours of May 17th, police stormed the building and removed the protesters who had been camping at the theatre. Bulldozers quickly moved in and tore into the building. In a matter of hours, the National Theatre and its 70+ year history was gone.

A video captured the destruction from across the street.

There are conflicting reports of whether or not the protesters were removed with or without violence. Albanian President Ilir Meta called the demolition "a moral crime that cannot be granted amnesty." The EU Delegation in Tirana stated the dialogue between authorities and civil society should have taken place before an irreversible decision was taken.

According to local reports,

“In an open letter released this week, a group of artists and cultural workers brought attention to what they deem the "artwashing" of Rama's politics. Namely, the prime minister is also a practising artist with exhibitions at venues including Marian Goodman Gallery in New York. They warn he rules by constantly suppressing the civil rights, press freedom and democracy.”