 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 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 where 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]
Sranan Tongo is an English-based creole language that is spoken as a lingua franca by approximately 550,000 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.
The Brokopondo Reservoir, officially named Professor Doctor Ingenieur W. J. van Blommestein Meer, and also called the Brokopondostuwmeer, is a large reservoir in Suriname. It is named after the Surakarta-born Dutch hydrological engineer Willem Johan van Blommestein. With a surface area of approximately 1,560 km2 (600 sq mi), depending on the current water level, it is one of the largest reservoirs in the world, covering nearly one percent of the country.
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.
Emile Linus Alfred Wijntuin was a Surinamese politician who served as Chairman of the National Assembly of Suriname from 1975 until the aftermath of the 1980 Surinamese coup d'état. Wijntuin was a member of the Progressive Surinamese People's Party (PSV).
Eduard Johan "Eddy" Bruma was a Surinamese politician, lawyer and writer.
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.
Theresa Evelyne Leuwsha is a Surinamese Dutch writer.
Goslar is a German turbine steamboat, and was in service as a freighter. She was built in 1929 in Hamburg. On 5 September 1939, she surrendered in Suriname. On 10 May 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands, and the ship was scuttled by her crew. Attempts to remove the wreck in 1955 failed, and has resulted in the ship breaking in two parts.
Katwijk is coffee plantation and village in the Alkmaar resort of the Commewijne District of Suriname. It is the only coffee plantation in Suriname which is still in operation. During World War II, Katwijk was an internment camp for prostitutes.
Johannes Helstone, born Nicodemus Johannes Helstone, was a Surinamese composer, pianist and writer. He is best known for his 1906 opera Het Pand der Goden.
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.
Lilawatie Hélène Ramjiawan was a Surinamese children's book author. She became known in the 1990s with her short stories for young readers about the girl "Poek".
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