Backstage in Meiningen

Have you ever been behind the stage of a theatre? Until last week I didn't. Peter and I spend a couple of days in southern Thuringia and had a great opportunity to go backstage in Meiningen's theatre.
First we went to the rehearsal room. A large room full of music stands and seats. Without the stories and explanations of our guide it would have been quite dull. Then we climbed lots of stairs and went to the stage via the entrance for the actors. The number of flood lights on stage is amazing. And the control room for those lights as well!

Then we went to the other side of the stage. Very spectacular too and such a contrast to the high tech backstage! Everything in the audience hall seemed to be freshly renovated but you got a feeling what the amosphere must have felt a hundred years ago.

Matching the audience hall was the reception hall, so much decorated and golden:

Then we went back to the present, to the workshop where the scenery for the stage is made. A huge hall full of material to create a stage setting.

Our theatre guide did her best and entertained us with stories about actors, artists and musicians so we gained a little glimpse into the life of the people working backstage.
Then finally we visited a play. Unfortunately not in the beautiful audience hall but in the quite modern theatre next door. The play was called "The Accident" by Hillel Mittelpunkt and was about moral conflicts. A bit heavy for my liking, nonetheless a memorable evening.