Welcome to Aarhus Teater
A WORLD AWAITS YOU AT THE STAGE
Aarhus Teater offers theatrical plays and music theater on 4 stages in a variety of scales. In a season we have over 100.000 visitors. Being a theatre of and for the people, we offer a wide variety of performances from August - June.
Most performances are aimed at a national audience and performed in Danish. On select days we offer live subtitles in English to your mobile device.
On this site you can find our offers to an English speaking audience.
Visit our Danish site for an up-to-date calendar on our programme
Jeppe of the Hill (Subtitled)
A Danish classic from 1722 - but with a distinctly sharp and modern take
"People say that Jeppe drinks, but they don't say why Jeppe drinks." The qoute from Ludvig Holbergs masterpiece Jeppe på bjerget (or in English Jeppe of the hill) sums up the main story, which to this day permeates Danish culture. Jeppe is a poor and broken man, living in the countryside with his abusive wife Nille. But after a particularly drunken night he awakens the bed of the Baron. Everybody plays tricks on him, sneers behind his back and he is the laughing stock of us all. But should we laugh at him? Or recognize ourselves being ridiculed by the upper classes?
Danish playwright, director and activist Christian Lollike is not a man to shy away from wild theatrical gimmicks that provokes and touches audiences alike.
The play is performed in Danish, but will have English subtitles on:
Wednesday February 12
Wednesday February 19
Wednesday February 26
Book a date that suites you
It is possible for groups to book an individual date for subtitles on this show.
The price is fixed at 1800 DKK + tickets.
Contact info@aarhusteater.dk or phone +45 70213021
The Sound of Music (Subtitled)
A romantic musical classic that reaches across the Alps to the hearts of people of all ages
Rodgers' og Hammersteins The Sound of Music has enthralled musiclovers the last six decades in an astonishing and unique way. The musical began on Broadway, but was immortalised in the five time Oscar winning movie with Julie Andrews as Maria.
The succes not least because of the immaculate songs such as: "The Hills Are Alive", "Edelweiss", "Do-Re-Mi" and "My Favorite Things". This performance will be the first time The Sound of Music is staged at Aarhus Teater.
The musical is performed in Danish, but will have English subtitles on:
Wednesday May 7
Wednesday May 14
Wednesday May 21
Wednesday May 28
Wednesday June 4
Book a date that suits you
It is possible for larger groups to book an individual date for subtitles on this show.
The price is fixed at 1800 DKK + tickets.
Contact info@aarhusteater.dk or phone +45 70213021
Subtitled performance on select dates
We are glad to offer English subtitles straight to your own mobile device on select dates at no extra cost to you
How to use the app:
- Download THEA free from App Store or Google Play (search for "Thea Dogood")
- Upon arriving at the theater choose the wi-fi connection called TEXTNING
- Turn off your Mobile data
- Mute your smartphone, open the app and choose the language of your subtitles.
- The subtitles will appear automatically once the play begins.
If you need any further help or information we will be available to support you. You´ll find assistance near the main entrance. We recommend downloading the app prior to arriving at the theater.
TICKET OFFICE
The ticket office is located at Teatergaden, to the right of the main entrance of the theatre
Our ticket office is open prior to perfomances for additional ticket sales.
The Theater is closed in July.
Contact
Tickets and requests: +45 7021 3021
Or send us an email at billet@aarhusteater.dk
Tickets can also be purchased online. Simply click on the black bar stated "GÅ TIL KØB"
PRICES
Aarhus Teater offers 4 stages in a variety of scales. This is also reflected on the price range.
Store Scene:
The grand stage is our largest venue and often the centerpiece of great musicals and lavish dramas. Prices vary from 180- 525 DKK.
Scala:
Our second largest stage often offers new and classic dramatic plays. Price 295 DKK.
Studio/Stiklingen:
Our two intimate venues is for the experiments and first time performances of newly written plays. Prices are set at 160-185 DKK.
Student discounts:
Students and people under the age of 25 can purchase tickets to any perfomance at just 95 DKK. On Store Scene select seats and varied prices.
BOOK A TOUR OF AARHUS TEATER
Throughout the year we offer public tours and a chance to check out every nook and cranny of the theater.
A guide will take you through the history of the house, the architecture and and decorations. And we leave no stone unturned as you visit not only the stages of perfomance, but also the workshops, the propmasters basement etc.
No sign-up necessary.
The tour starts at the steps of the theatres main entrance on Teatergaden and lasts app. 90 minutes.
Entrance fee of 95 DKK pr person
Tours are perfomed in respect to the artistic processes. There may be rehersals or works in progress, which means we cannot guarantee a visit to all sets and workshops.
Please note tours are in Danish only. English guided tours currently only available pre-booked.
GROUP TOURS
Larger groups can book a tour on customized tour of the theater.
The price for up to 30 participants are 1800 DKK.
Book a group tour at arrangement@aarhusteater.dk or by phone +45 7021 3021
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FUN FACT
A LONG TIME AGO IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY...
Though designed in the late 1890s, Aarhus Teater has inadvertently become quite intertwined with the Star Wars universe. Prior to the relaunch of the Star Wars franchise in 2016 an alert staff member at the theatre discovered that seen from above, the theatre carries a strong resemblance to the iconic Star Destroyers from the Star Wars movies.
Since the publication of this coincidence the theatre building has appeared on memes and social media worldwide.
THE HISTORIC BUILDING
Inaugurated in 1900, we are the largest regional stage in Denmark
Aarhus Teater was built in the 1890s at the initiative of the citizens of Aarhus. The building is an architectonic gem of the Jugend style. It was inaugurated on September 15th in 1900 and became a listed landmark in 1990.
The theatre has kept is original grandeur as a cultural powerhouse in the secondlargest city of Denmark. It contains 4 stages with a total capacity of 1200 seats.
1) The building
Aarhus Teater was designed by Hack Kampmann, who also was responsible for several other significant buildings of the time in Aarhus including the royal residence Marselisborg Slot.
The lavishly adorned façade of the Aarhus Theatre has an enticing magic of its very own, and the spell and allure are even greater when you pass through the doors and enter the theatre with its glittering chandeliers and extravagantly gold-decorated ceilings and interiors.
Under the balcony can be seen the town arms of Aarhus: a shield with a portal and two towers, symbolising the early church of the town. The waves testify to the location near the sea and above the portal is seen a moon and a seven-pointed star, a traditional symbol for warding off evil. Inside the portal is seen the guardian angel of the town Saint Clement with an anchor and the apostle Paul with a sword pointed at the earth, signifying peace.
2) The frontispiece
Inspired by the classical form of a traditional temple, the frontispiece is decorated with a scene from the play Maskerade by Ludvig Holberg. Being often named as the father of Danish comedies, Holberg was a given choice to signify the building as a theatre. The decoration is an original piece made of ceramic mosaic by artist Karl Hansen-Reistrup
The promenade inside the building is further decorated in stucco with scenes from two other Danish theatre classics: The musical comedies Elves´Hill by Johan Ludvig Heiberg and Genboerne by Jens Christian Hostrup
3) The dragon on top
It is evident in original drawings that architect Kampmann at one point had wanted to decorate the roof of the theatre with classical motives such as Apollo, the three Graces and the musical instrument lyre. Only residue of this plan is the tiny lyres on the gutters.
How and when the decoration turned into a troll/dragon/gargoyle/devil is unknown. One supposed reason is the fashion of the time of adding gothic elements to designs. Hansen-Reistrup used the same motif in his ceramics.
A die-hard but unsubstantiated rumour has it that Kampmann added the devil due to his personal disdain for the neighbouring cathedral and the clergy in general. The rumour is easily discredited when considering that Kampmann during a long period of time was responsible for the renovations and restoration of the Cathedral. Furthermore, he designed the clock on the bell tower.
Whichever way, the devil was with great interest from the citizens and media of the town placed on the roof on September 13th 1900, two days before the official opening of the theatre.
4) The Theater Café
The Theater Café opened in 1900 at the same time as Aarhus Teater was inaugurated. The rooms are now home to Café Hack, named after the architect Hack Kampmann. Besides its café and restaurant, the original establishment hosted a range of entertainment, music, vaudevilles and such in various forms – and varied quality! During WWII the café became a favourite hangout of the German occupational force and the local prostitutes and the café suffered from the bad reputation the years that followed the war. The empty rooms where in 1948 transformed to accommodate the proper first School of Acting of Aarhus Teater. As such it was used for decades, interspersed with periods as an open stage and as home to the radio drama division of Danmarks Radio. The café reopened in its current form as Café Hack in 2001.
5) Movie Theater
In 1906 the right side annex of Aarhus Teater became host to the second movie theater in town, Fotorama. Many of the silent movies and news reels shown were produced in Aarhus, which at the time had a thriving movie industry and were known as the Hollywood of Denmark. Many of the actors and actresses from Aarhus Teater had decent side careers in the movies. The movie theater functioned in the annex up until 1954, when the newly added Scala stage provided a much improved location. The annex has since hosted the acting school, as a stage and as a ticket office in its current form. The movie theater closed in 1981, but the room is very much in use as a theatrical stage.
6) Decoration in the detail
During the build of the theater a drinking cup from the Viking era decorated with a gilded bronze eagle was discovered. Kampmann became so thrilled by the find, that he wrote his one and only article ever, which was printed in a publication on prehistoric finds. Furthermore, he decided that in reference to the find, eagles should also be a main motif on the frieze of the theatre. The ceramic frieze was fabricated at the famous Kähler factory and when the theatre was expanded by the addition of the Scala stage in 1954, more eagles were produced using the original mold at the same factory. And so the eagles decorate the frieze in the entirety of the current building.
Also decorating the building is the classic comedy and tragedy masks, one happy and one sad, known universally as a symbol of theatrical work. The masks of Aarhus Teater was inspired by a mosaic from the House of the Faun in Pompeii of which Kampmann had drawn a watercolour of on his travels in Italy.