Theatre History and Actors' Museum

The Miskolc Theatre History and Actors' Museum was established in 1996 next to the building of the Miskolc National Theatre, at 3 Déryné Street, which was built on the foundations of the first, but burned down, stone theatre in Miskolc.

History

The idea of the Miskolc Actors' Museum first occurred to Ferenc Gyarmathy, a stage actor from Miskolc, because the institution founded in Budapest by Hilda Gobbi did not deal with the memory of provincial theatre. The actor collected memories related to the Miskolc theatre, the relics of his colleagues, from the 1980s, and dedicated this to the core of the planned museum. As a result of the organizing work of Ferenc Gyarmathy and the Actors' Memorial House Association he founded, the museum could open on October 22, 1996 as the theatre history collection of the Miskolc Gallery City Art Museum. The exhibition material was also enriched with important documents by the Herman Ottó Museum and the County Archive. When the Miskolc Gallery and the Herman Ottó Museum merged, the actors' museum also became an exhibition space of the Herman Ottó Museum, its official name becoming the Thália House.

The professional standing of the actors' museum operating in the Thália House, among other things, is reflected by its cooperation with the Moscow Theatre Museum, and its audience relationship is thanks to an internet poll, most notably indicated by the title “Miskolc’s most popular exhibition venue,” while the We love Hungary tourism brand listed the actors' museum among the five most important sights of Miskolc.

It is an extraordinary recognition and rank that, among domestic institutions, only the Miskolc collection has been in a multi‑year professional relationship with the world's largest and one of the oldest theatrical collections, the Moscow Bahrusin Theatre Museum. The Gaál Franciska memorial exhibition held in Moscow in 2014 set out on its international tour from the Miskolc Actors' Museum. In 2017 the institution presented itself in Moscow with an independent exhibition about Hungarian operetta, under the curatorial direction of Mikita Gábor. In recent years, however, the Moscow institution's staff were received in Miskolc, where they organized temporary exhibitions in the Actors' Museum.

The building

The museum building stands on the site of the Miskolc stone theatre, which first opened on 24 August 1823 and burned down in 1843; its use as a museum can also be considered symbolic. This theatre was the first stone theatre built on the territory of present‑day Hungary that was erected for Hungarian‑language performances on the plot at 3 Boldogasszony Street.

Even then, theatre was loved in Miskolc, so a letter was written to the Provincial Council in 1816: “… in Miskolc, a populous plain town in the middle of a region where Hungarian is spoken, we want to build and open a permanent playhouse.” This theatre was inaugurated with Kisfaludy Károly’s play *A tatárok Magyarországon*. The opening of the theatre was welcomed by István Széchenyi: “… although it is very sad that in our great homeland there is only one such institution, in Miskolc, which corresponds to the great goal … nevertheless my heart rejoices that the beginning has already taken place somewhere.”

Only descriptions of the theatre building have survived; based on these, Ödön Bartus made a drawing, and then, based on the 1957 archaeological excavation, another sketch was prepared, which differs significantly from the first version. The magazine Honművész described the building in 1833 as follows: “… its roof covered with pine shingles, the upper floor made of split boards, at the front right at the entrance two small rooms, one for the ticket office, the other for the confectioner. Initially it had neither a balcony nor a loge, but later Mr. Abraham Vay, the unforgettable then deputy county head of Borsod, almost at his own expense added a side annex with 32 boxes, fencing them above with a balcony…”

The building burned down in the great Miskolc fire of 1843, and the new theatre was erected on the plot next to the old one and was handed over in 1857. In place of the burned building, a military lodging (regimental quarters) was built on its foundations, which was completed by 1845, designed by Ferenc Miks (1814–1879), a renowned architect. Later, from the 1870s the house was used as a school, and from the 1980s it functioned as the theatre’s scenery warehouse.

The building intended for the Actors' Museum was renovated as part of the comprehensive reconstruction of the theatre building complex that took place between 1991 and 1996; the conversion plans were drawn up by architect Csaba Bodonyi and realized with the support of the Council of Europe. Archaeological investigations carried out during the renovations proved that the building walls contain the military barracks, but also the main wall of the original theatre, and even one wall of the present stairwell and the large hall on the upper floor are remnants of the former theatre façade. The museum building was handed over in 1996, the former entrance gate became the museum's vestibule, the exhibition is on the upper floor, covering about 260 square metres. On the ground floor, besides the ticket office and office, service units are located. Since 2011, the cellar of the building houses the Teátrum Cellar Gallery founded by visual artist Tibor Urbán, which hosts group exhibitions of contemporary artists.

The exhibition

The permanent exhibition handed over in 1996 was completely renewed in 2010 under the curatorial direction of theatre historian‑museumologist Gábor Mikita, based on the visual designs of set designer Katalin Juhász. In the ground‑floor Egressy Hall the history of Miskolc's theatre buildings is presented, from the first small theatre to the present theatrical quarter. The first tract brings to life the beginnings of theatrical performance in Miskolc. Numerous significant personalities of 19th‑century theatre passed through Miskolc – they are commemorated, among other things, by the marble sculptures of the shop‑style entrance of the classicist building. The exhibition rooms on the upper floor show the operation of the second Miskolc stone theatre, which was handed over in 1857.

The large hall summarizing half a century of the nationalized theatre evokes the world of the stage, the visitor can feel themselves in an imitated theatrical environment: the exhibition documents, photographs, posters, set designs, personal objects, the theatrical structures have been placed among stylized set elements and set walls.