History
The first theatre performance in Kikinda was given in 1796 by a travelling company performing in German. Much later, in 1824, another travelling company staged a performance in Serbian. Ten more years passed before students and young people of Kikinda prepared their own first production in 1834: Svetislav i Mileva by Jovan Sterija Popović, which premiered that summer.
Ten years later the first theatre company was formed, preparing and performing plays on a regular basis. Theatre life in Kikinda soon grew stronger and other theatre groups were founded. This movement continued until 1950, when the National Amateur Theatre was established; it gained professional status by decision of the Municipal Assembly of Kikinda in 1992. The theatre performs every Tuesday and Saturday, and often more frequently. Its repertoire also includes performances for children.
The list of successful, long-running productions is long. To name just a few: Pa izvolte u Sakule was played for 21 seasons, 153 times, to more than 40,000 spectators; Crvenkapa i zbunjeni vuk (Little Red Riding Hood and the Confused Wolf) for 15 seasons, 121 times, to almost 30,000; Preljubnici (The Adulterers) for 12 seasons, 118 times, to more than 27,000; and Nastojnik (The Caretaker), on the Small Stage, for 22 seasons, 138 times, to more than 9,000 spectators – and it is still in the repertoire.
The repertoire has always been varied: classics and contemporary drama, tragedies, comedies and plays from folk life, for adults and for children, on both the Main and the Small Stage.
The actors of the Kikinda theatre show particular quality on the Small Stage. This form of theatre has been nurtured since 1959, and Small Stage productions have won awards at the Festival of Small Stages of Vojvodina, the Belgrade Review of Small Stages (BRAMS), the Days of Youth Theatre festival (Mostar), the Herceg Novi festival, Joakim Interfest (Kragujevac) and others.
From 2010 to 2015 the National Theatre organised the Festival of Small Stages, with companies from the countries of the former Yugoslavia. In 2012, 2013 and 2015 it organised and hosted the 62nd, 63rd and 65th Festival of Professional Theatres of Vojvodina.
The theatre foyer opened in 2019.