Bollhuset

[3] Because a ball house was usually designed with as spectator gallery around an arena, they were often used by travelling theater companies in 17th-century Europe.

[5] During the 17th century, foreign travelling theater companies often visited Stockholm, especially from Germany and the Netherlands.

During the Age of Liberty, the first national theater was to be founded at Bollhuset, then officially called Kungliga Svenska Skådeplatsen (Royal Swedish Stage).

After the amateur-performance Tobias by a couple of idealistic students at the birthday of king Frederick I of Sweden in 1737, during a period when the building was empty after the last foreign troupe had left, the opinion wanted a theater in their own language.

It was temporarily closed by regent queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden in 1738 because of the clerical opposition, but soon reopened.

After the 1753-54 season, the Swedish theatre was expelled from their localities in Bollhuset by queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, who hired a French theater company instead.

During the period of 1754–71, Swedish plays were only performed in the city stage of Bollhuset two times; Syrinx (1761) and Herkules på skiljovägen (1762), by the Stenborg Troupe, to the benefit of musician Petter Lillström, spouse of the Swedish actress Elisabeth Lillström.

The building was also used for public masquerade balls; the first was organized already in 1701 by the French troupe of Rosidor, and the 1763 year carnival on Bollhuset attracted 600 guests and gave profit of §6000.

In 1771, king Gustav III of Sweden fired the French theater company, and the Swedish actors, led by Petter Stenborg, then saw their chance and asked to perform a play at the opening of the parliament of 1772.

The French troupe first performed at court, but begun to perform for the public in Bollhuset in 1783; in the absence of an organised theatre School, the future Swedish actors became students of the French troupe, which educated several of the later famous Swedish actors of the Royal Dramatic Theatre, such as Lars Hjortsberg, Maria Franck and Inga Åberg, and in 1787, an independent Swedish theatre troupe was founded under the leadership of Fredrik Ristell.

In 1788, Fredrik Ristell fled the country to escape his creditors, and the actors formed a company and asked for the king's protection; he became the formal director, placed the theater under Royal protection, thus creating the Royal Dramatic Theatre.

In 1792, Bollhuset was deemed to be too old and decayed, and it was torn down 1793; in the actors moved to the palace Makalös, (also called The Arsenal), where the Royal Dramatic Theater was to reside until 1825, after which it again was reunited with the Opera.

This troupe opened the Theater at the stage of Lejonkulan with the play Orontes en Satira by Magnon in February 1667.

The actors were instructed by the French troupe, and formed its own theater under Fredrik Ristell in 1787.