Nottara Theatre suspends activity due to the high seismic risk of the building

Nottara Theatre suspended its activity indefinitely after President Iohannis promulgated the law banning the activity in buildings with high seismic risk until further consolidations.

“Considering provisions of Law 228/2015 regarding reducing seismic risk for existent buildings, unfortunately we inform that our theatre is compelled to order suspension of all performances and events at 20 Magheru Boulevard indefinitely starting November 23,” reads a note of the theatre management.

Theatregoers are also informed they will be able to recover the money for the already bought tickets. “The theatre asks Bucharest City Hall to provide us with a new location to temporarily stage our shows,” the note also says.

The law has been adopted by the Parliament on October 10, while President Iohannis promulgated on November 17.

Nottara Theatre was built by engineer Liviu Ciuley, the father of great film and theatre director Liviu Ciulei, for his family. “The same Liviu Ciuley, the extraordinary engineer is one of those who built constructions in Bucharest and other cities after 1940 in compliance with the new rules on earthquake. CFR Palace or the new BNR Palace have no high seismic risk red spots. The only building that has a read spot is the one he made for his family. Can we consider that he built a worse building for himself?”, said Marinela Tepus, the theatre manager.

She explained the theatre building cannot be consolidated, as there is an ongoing retrocession process with its owners, who challenged “the red spot” statute of the dwelling. “The City Hall is not allowed to consolidate a block which doesn’t belong to it”, she argued.

In its turn, Bucharest City Hall said that the Nottara theatre building cannot be consolidated as the owners are categorically refusing the consolidation works.

Established since 1947 as the Army’s theatre, the current C.I. Nottara theatre on Magheru Bvd was commissioned on October 15, 1946 with Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” performance, being a successful project of engineer Liviu Ciuley who thus managed to honor promise to his two children, Ana and Liviu, who were in love with the theatre art: he had built a real theatre for them.