A Brief History of the Theatre

The Theatre of Nations provides a showcase for the best touring shows of all kinds from Russia and abroad, and it produces its own original work. In the words of Artistic Director Yevgeny Mironov, it is a “center where the next generation of theatre artists is being formed.” The Theatre of Nations is a unique organization, whose stage is available for experimentation on the part of Russian and foreign directors, and for organizers of national and international festivals.

The broad profile of the Theatre of Nations is unmatched by any other theatre organization in Russia. It was created in 1987 as the Friendship of Nations Theatre and it had the ambitious mission of providing a platform for all the theatre traditions of the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, it was renamed the State Theatre of Nations, and under that name it has continued to be a force for cultural exchange between Russia and the countries of the CIS and Baltic states, as well as of countries beyond the limits of the former Soviet Union. The Theatre of Nations has hosted or organized festivals involving the theatres of Ukraine and the Baltic states. It has hosted tours of some of the world's finest contemporary theatre productions, including: Robert Sturua's legendary productions of Shakespeare's “King Lear“ and Brecht's “The Caucasian Chalk Circle“ for the Shota Rustaveli Theatre of Tbilisi, Georgia; Eimuntas Nekrosius's famed productions of Chekhov's “Uncle Vanya“ and Vadim Korostylyov's “Pirosmani, Pirosmani“ for the Youth Theatre of Lithuania; Peter Brook's production of Chekhov's “The Cherry Orchard” for the Brooklyn Academy of Music; Lev Dodin's “Brothers and Sisters,” based on the novel by Fyodor Abramov, for the Maly Drama Theatre of St. Petersburg; Rimas Tuminas's production of Grigorijus Kanovicius's “Smile Upon Us, Lord!” for the Vilnius Maly Drama Theatre; Jean-Pierre Vincent's production of Marivaux's “The Game of Love and Chance” for the Theatre Nanterre-Amandiers; Annie Girardeau's one-woman show “Madame Marguerite”; numerous performances by Japanese Noh theatres and many more.

The Theatre of Nations actively began producing its own shows in 2001 when it presented Andrii Zholdak's “An Experiment in Assimilating 'The Seagull' by Means of the Stanislavsky System” during the Third International Theatre Olympics in Moscow. Two productions of the Theatre of Nations have been nominated for Golden Mask awards: in 2006, “Flies,” a contemporary dance piece choreographed by Anna Abalikhina and Dina Khusein, was nominated in the categories of best contemporary dance production and best female dancer; in 2007 “Phedre: the Golden Colossus“ was nominated in the categories of best small form production, best director, best designer and best actress. Maria Mironova was the winner in the latter category for her performance as Phedre. Today, while continuing to collaborate with major contemporary directors, the Theatre of Nations concentrates its efforts on young directing talents. Nikita Grinshpun's production of “The Swedish Matchstick,“ based on stories by Anton Chekhov, and Andrii Zholdak's “Carmen. The Outcome“ have been significant events in Moscow theatre life.

The Theatre of Nations favors no one theatrical genre, and seeks to present works of all different kinds, including dramatic and musical theatre, opera and operetta, classical ballet and contemporary dance, symphonic orchestras and jazz ensembles. It develops and produces theatrical projects, organizes and conducts numerous international, Russian, and Russian regional festivals that involve a broad array of artistic styles. Russian theatre-goers know well many of the Theatre of Nations projects, including “Parade of Opera,“ “Opera Panorama,” “Russia's National Endowment,” “Mini-Avignon,” “A Window on the Netherlands,” “Strindberg in Moscow,” the Russian-Turkish festival of contemporary drama and Japanese drum shows. Less flamboyant, perhaps, but no less significant are the Theatre Festival of Russian Provincial Cities, which brings to Moscow numerous productions from a single location (Voronezh, Perm, Samara, Omsk and others); and the First Festival, which provides a platform for provincial theatres in Moscow.

The Theatre of Nations has been a moving force in supporting contemporary dance. It organized the first two contemporary dance festivals ever held in Russia — in 1993 and 1995 — and played a significant role in the development of such currently recognized masters as Yevgeny Panfilov, Tatyana Baganova and Olga Bavdilovich. It has hosted tours by countless important international troupes: the Nantes National Choreographic Centre; Jose Limon's Dance Company; les Ballets C de la B (Belgium); the Pal Frenak Company (Paris, France); Anouk Van Dijk, Krisztina de Chatel and Karina Hall's Introdans (Holland); the Random Dance Company of Britain; the Japanese Butoh dance company Sankai Juku; Norrdans of Sweden; Thierry Malandain's National Dance Center in Biarritz (France); the Japanese Art House theatre of contemporary dance; and Regis Abadia's dance company.

These tours provided the first-ever opportunity for Russian spectators to witness the works of these international masters, and thereby helped to expand the horizons of contemporary dance in Russia. Having made its contribution with the early contemporary dance festivals, the Theatre of Nations stepped back and allowed others to follow through with development of the field. This is a policy the theatre has observed in others areas as well. Thanks to projects mounted by the Theatre of Nations, numerous festivals have come into being, including the Khersones Games festival; the Moscow Performance international festival of musical and dramatic theatre for the autistic; the international Festival of One-Actor Shows and many more which have become important events in Russia's theatre calendar.

The Theatre of Nation's flexible and unorthodox structure, as well as its uncommon goals and possibilities, allow it to work in many cities and theatrical traditions. It has conducted the Theatrical Summer festival, a showcase of touring productions, in Krasnodar. It runs the Opera Panorama and the Okinawa festivals in Samara. It has mounted the Hard Currency festival of Russian theatres in London. Its Theatre Festival of Russian Provincial Cities has run in Moscow and Lysva in the Perm Oblast.