8. The building of Panevėžys “Menas” Theatre

About

The history of the building where “Menas” (“Art”) theatre currently operates, starts in the 1920s. Back then, “Iliuzija” cinema opened up in a one-story brick building and continued to operate until the late 30s. A couple of years later, between 1938 and 1938, the cinema changed its name to “Menas” and the building itself was rebuilt and modernised. Its function remained the same during the Soviet occupation and in the 60s the cinema underwent yet another reconstruction. This time it became widescreen, the whole interior and the layout was revamped – not only a new exhibition hall was built but the inner spaces were expanded as well. After the Restoration of state independence, the cinema ceased its work and, after some adjustments, “Menas” theatre (est. in 1991) moved in here.

Since the building of the theatre underwent several reconstructions, it is hard to define its exact architectural style. The features of the Interwar, Soviet modernist as well as late the 1990s architecture are abundant and visitors will find out more about them during the tours.