 The project was financed using only private capital (Sandor Ujfalfy bequeathed his domains and estates from Szolnok-Doboka to the National Theatre Fund from Kolozsvár)

The theatre opened on 8 September 1906 with Ferenc Herczeg's "Bujdosók" and until 1919, as Cluj was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, it was home to the local Hungarian National Theatre ().The last performance of the Hungarian troupe was held on September 30, 1919 and presented Shakespeare's Hamlet