The theatre’s remodelling follows on from the same architects’ wider masterplan for Korçë’s historic centre. Inside, the previous two-tier, 300-seat layout was replaced by a single raked auditorium seating 450 with acoustically absorbing (perforated) and reflecting (zigzag) side walls. Beside the upgraded foyer (now extending under the auditorium) a cube clad in local black basalt was added to house a grand stair leading to the auditorium and beyond to a new lounge bar. A Children’s Theatre was added to the rear. Outside, the traditional theatrical masks of tragedy and comedy are enlarged to sculptural super-signs: tragedy (black, convex) on the main frontage, comedy (white, concave) on the new stair cube. The 140 smaller panels of the Art Deco-like, local white-marble-framed facade are filled with as many terracotta masks made by a local potter, representing the audience. The radical facade treatment has acted as a media magnet, encouraging tourism.
Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture
