 Thalia Theatre in the 1850s | |
 | |
| Address | Dr. J. F. Nassylaan Paramaribo  Suriname |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 5°49′49″N55°09′36″W / 5.83037°N 55.16002°W |
| Capacity | 500 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 20 January 1840 |
| Renovated | 2011 |
| Architect | Johan August Voigt |
Thalia Theatre is a theatre in Paramaribo, Suriname. The theatre opened on 20 January 1840.
The Thalia Theatre Company was founded on 27 April 1837. [1] In December 1837, a terrain on the Dr. J. F. Nassylaan was acquired. [2] The theatre was built by architect Johan August Voigt with a capacity of 700 seats, [3] and opened on 20 January 1840. [4] Slaves and people on barefoot were initially not allowed in the theatre. [5]
In the late 19th century, there was disagreement about the future direction of the theatre. On 4 February 1894, former chairman Wessels postulated that there were two kinds of members: anarchists and conservatives. [6] The staging of a play dedicated to the governor van Wijck culminated in a public fistfight and the hospitalisation of one member of the theatre. [7]
In the 1950s, the theatre started to focus on producing their own plays and started to perform some plays in Sranan Tongo, the Creole spoken in Suriname. [8] The theatre company Pohama performed at Thalia as well, and was known for their 1 July event dedicated to the emancipation of slavery in Suriname. [9]
In the late 20th century, the building was in poor shape, and even demolition was considered. [10] In 2011, Thalia Theatre was restored, and reopened with reduced capacity of 500 seats. [11]
"God zij met ons Suriname", or "Opo kondreman", is the national anthem of Suriname. It has two verses: the first in Dutch and the second in Sranan Tongo.
Sranan Tongo is an English-based creole language that is spoken as a lingua franca by approximately 519,600 people in Suriname.
Wanhatti is a village and resort in Suriname, located in the Marowijne district on the Cottica River. The resort is inhabited by the Ndyuka Maroons, and has a population of 468 people as of 2012. The village is primarily inhabited by Ndyuka of the Ansu clan or lo.
Dagblad Suriname is one of the leading daily Surinamese newspapers. It is published in the Dutch language in Paramaribo. Dagblad was founded in 2002, and is part of FaFam Publishing N.V. The newspaper has been described as centre left.
Paranam is a town in the Para District, Suriname. Paranam was created in 1938 for a bauxite factory. In 1965, an aluminium smelter was added. The factories closed down in 2017.
Henri Frans de Ziel, working under the pen name of Trefossa, was a neoromantic writer in Dutch and Sranan Tongo from Suriname. He is best known for the Sranan Tongo stanzas of Suriname's National Anthem.
Michaël Henricus Gertrudis (Michiel) van Kempen is a Dutch writer, art historian and literary critic. He has written novels, short stories, essays, travel literature and scenarios. He was the compiler of a huge range of anthologies of Dutch-Caribbean literature and wrote an extensive history of the literature of Suriname, in two volumes.
Eugène Constantijn Donders Drenthe was a prominent Surinamese poet and playwright.
Julius Gustaaf Arnout Koenders was a Surinamese teacher and fervent activist for Sranan Tongo. As a teacher, he was forced to use the Dutch language thus denying the children their own language. He was an early advocate of Sranan and Creole culture.
Michaël Arnoldus Slory was a Surinamese poet. He mainly wrote poetry in Sranan Tongo, and is considered one of the most important poets in Sranan Tongo. He also published in Dutch, English and Spanish
Johannes King, was the first Maroon missionary, and the first important writer in Sranan Tongo. King belonged to the Matawai tribe, and performed his missionary activities for the Moravian Church.
Wim Bos Verschuur, born Bernard Willem Hendrik Verschuur was a Surinamese politician, activist, artist, and writer. On 30 July 1943, he was arrested and interned for opposing governor Johannes Kielstra; this caused a major scandal in Surinam politics and led to a larger wave of repression against opposition figures.
Marylin Simons is a Surinamese writer and columnist. She is best known for In naam van God en Obia (2002) for which she was awarded the Kwaku Literature Prize, and her youth book Carrousel (2003).
Els Moor was a Dutch-born Surinamese educator, editor and book publisher. She is best known for Fa yu e tron leisibakru, a literary education method for secondary education. Moor was the chief editor of De Ware Tijd Literair, and founder of the Okopipi publishing house.
The statue of Kwakoe in the Surinamese capital Paramaribo is a monument commemorating the abolition of slavery. It was made by the sculptor Jozef Klas.
Saya Yasmine Amores was a Surinamese-Dutch poet, writer, and painter. She wrote under the pen name Cándani from 1982 to 2007. She then used the name Saya Yasmine Amores, which she legally adopted in 2013.
Christiaan Hendrik "Hein" Eersel was a Surinamese linguist and cultural researcher.
Henna Goudzand Nahar is a Surinamese fiction writer and journalist. She has written under the pen names Amber and Amber Nahar.
