The North Theater

It functions in a building which was constructed in 1889, in neo-classical stile, with one floor. The facade, realized in three registers, from which the centered one is unhooked in semicircular profile, having a roof with cupola, and it has at the first floor a veranda sustained by four columns. The windows of the facade are bolted which have a frame finished on the superior side with triangular decorative frontons. The shows room was built to comprise 800 sits; it is decorated with motives specific to that period. The architects were Voijta Arnold and Sziksay, and the interior decorations and frescoes were executed by Spanraft and Hirsch.

The county theatrical movement has old and remarkable traditions. The first theater show took place in 1790, being sustained by a theater group under the leadership if Moricz Gyorgy. Between 1814-1816 there are attested some troupes from Oradea and Debrecen passing by here. At the same time with the foundation of the Romanian Theater Society for Found (1870) there has been produced a grouping of the Romanian cultural forces in a programmatic front and there was insured an organized frame of the fight for a Romanian theatrical institution. In 1872 there is organized the first general gathering of the Romanian Theater Society from Transilvania, and with this occasion took place a theatrical and musical artistic show followed by a ball and Iosif Vulcan is sustaining the conference “Sketch from the history of the theater”.

Until 1848 the theatrical shows were given in the building of the inn “ La arborele verde"( on the place of the “White house” from Liberty Square, in Jeney house 9 on the place of the actual County Court), built in 1799, in Kotro garden (on the place of the actual food market nr 1), where the famous artist Prielle Cornelia from the past century was launched.
In 1844, there has been built a building which sheltered the civil casino and the theater ( it was the old city hall of the county from Liberty Square). There have been realized art manifestations in the frame of the “Lecture Society of the city pupils” (1859-1976).

The building of the theater in 1907

After the 1^st of December 1918, the Romanian theatrical movement is tied up by the name of G.M.Zamfirescu, who between 1922-1924, organizes theatrical shows with troups of young amateurs from the city. Among the mounted theater shows by G.M.Zamfirescu are :"Patima roşie" by Mihail Sorbu, "Ariciul şi şobolanul" by Victor Eftimiu, "Se face ziuă" by Zaharia Bârsan. G.M.Zamfirecu was a stage manager and an actor among these plays. Also, he initiates an intense press campaign for the foundation of a professional troop of Romanian theater.

In 1932, The National Theater is in a tour at Satu Mare under the leadership of Ion Marin Sadoveanu, giving representations with “Hamlet” by Shakespeare, the titular role being interpretated by Aristide Demetriad, “the paragon of the Romanian scene”.

Right after the world war II a group of young Romanians get together a team of theater of amateurs entitled “Zorile” from 1945 until September 1946 this formation presented mostly stage shows : Satu Mare Melody; Freamătul tinereţii; Fu-Fu Melody. A local valuable initiative leads at the apparency of the Romanian Association for culture and art Satu Mare, with the purpose to militate for the professional Romanian theater. Among the association with the approval of the General Direction of Theaters from Bucharest, there has been realized a productive collaboration with the West Theater Oradea. After each premiere at Oradea, the collective of the West Theater was coming at Satu Mare, repeating the premiere. This happened until the 16^th of May 1947, date at which the Association for culture, theater and Art “"Constantin Nottara" Satu Mare was founded and which followed to insure the founds for the salaries for the actors and the functionaries, the actors recruit from Bucharest and their employment at Satu Mare.

After the realization of these objectives, at the 6^th of December 1947 the stage of the Theater “"Constantin Nottara" Satu Mare is opened with the play “The Spider” by A. DE Herz, in the presence of the general director of theaters Al. Kiriţescu. The theater functioned this way until September 1948 when the new system of theater functioning entered . Well known actors from the country and from abroad activated at Satu Mare, at the theater “Constantin Nottara"giving a high prestige to this institution. Geo Barton, Bodi- Mihuţ, Ştefan Iordănescu, Virgil Fătu, Iancu Economu were permanent employees and among the invited ones to play on the Satu Mare stage we meet actors like George Vraca, Grigore Vasiliu-Birlic, Dina Cocea, Marcel Anghelescu, Luci Stănescu, George Mărutză, Florin Scărlătescu and others.

At the organization and success of the activity of the Association for theater, culture and Art "Constantin Nottara" Satu Mare and the Theater, a priceless contribution was brought by its president , also a representative of the General Direction of the theaters for Satu Mare, the general in disbandment Victor Popescu. In his activity he was supported by enthusiastic intellectuals of the city like Mihai Şuta, Victor Pop, Ion Murgu, Gheorghe Palcău and others.

The North Theater has two sections : the Romanian section – director Andrei Mihalache and the Hungarian section named "Harag Gyorgy"- director Lorincz Agnes. Besides the shows room it has a Studio room with 100 sits.