Teaterøen is a place for performing arts and artistic processes – created as an open platform for Danish and international artists who wish to challenge and rethink the conventional frameworks of theatre and live performance.

 

As the name suggests, theatre has always been at the core of Teaterøen, but over the years the site has welcomed a wide range of artistic practices and has served as a meeting point for collaboration, experimentation and cross-disciplinary work.

 

A PLACE FOR WORK, IMMERSION AND ENCOUNTERS

 

Teaterøen was developed with a focus on artistic processes: rehearsals, development, preparation and immersion. Over the years, its many and very different spaces have been used for performance development, workshops, residencies, installations and interdisciplinary meetings.

 

The diversity of the spaces reflects the history of the site and contributes to a layered and living environment, where architecture, traces of former functions and contemporary artistic work coexist.

 

Teaterøen has primarily functioned as a working space for independent and self-organised artists and companies seeking time, space and concentration to develop their artistic practice.

 

AT THE EDGE OF REFSHALEØEN

 

Teaterøen is located at the far end of Refshaleøen, where raw concrete meets sea, sky and wild nature. The area consists of buildings with very different histories and functions, together telling the story of the site’s maritime and industrial past.

 

The former barracks – built in the late 19th century – have over time served as a central gathering place. Other buildings on the site bear witness to a place in constant transformation, where new uses have emerged with respect for what already existed.

 

Teaterøen has been created with deep care for the site and its history – and with a clear ambition that artistic work and the specific character of the place should resonate with one another.

 

PERFORMANCES AND EVENTS

 

Until January 2021, Teaterøen functioned as a small city theatre under the Municipality of Copenhagen. When the municipal funding ended, the framework changed significantly, and a substantial part of the public programme was put on hold.

 

Today, Teaterøen is in a transitional phase, where the focus is on safeguarding the site’s identity, history and artistic foundation, while looking ahead towards future possibilities and new formats.