A Brief History of the Theatre

State Theatre of Nations is a unique structure within the system of the Russian cultural institutions. In terms of the scope and versatility of its activities it has no analogues in the practices of the national theatre. Founded in 1987 under the name of Theatre of Friendship it was in 1991 renamed into the State Theatre of Nations.

Theatre of Nations develops and implements a variety of theatre programs, organizes and holds national and international festivals, presents the best Russian and foreign productions of all genres and trends, produces its own stagings and pursues the ultimate goal of becoming the center for bringing up a new generation of theatre practitioners.

The regular festival programs of Theatre of Nations include the project Шекспир@Shakespeare, Small Towns' Theatres Festival, the festival “Another Theatre from France”. Theatre of Nations also participates in the international educational theatre festival TERRITORIЯ.

The activities of Theatre of Nations are in many ways exclusive. Thus it introduces the Russian audiences to individual pieces of drama created by outstanding masters of the European Theatre. These include the mono-play Vladimir or the Flight Cut Short performed by French theatre and film star Marina Vladi and Faust-Fantasy after Johann Wolfgang Goethe staged and performed by one of the present-day's greatest European directors Peter Stein. Theatre of Nations initiated the Russian tour of one of the world's most eminent modern dance troupes PARSONS DANCE (New York, USA).

Another creative project of Theatre of Nations, “One Play Festival” was timed for the 120th anniversary of the premiere of Chekhov's Ivanov at the famous Korsh Theatre in Moscow that now accommodates the headquarters of Theatre of Nations. The festival that continues throughout one year featured the more interesting Russian and foreign versions of the play. The production by Joseph Cantona Theatre of Budapest that closed the festival received the Golden Mask Award in “Best Foreign Production” nomination.

The project «Шекспир@Shakespeare» is also meant to introduce the Russian audiences to the more significant and at times controversial stagings of the Great Bard's plays. In particular within the framework of the project three stagings of Hamlet were presented: by Kamerny Theatre (Tel-Aviv, Israel); Oscar Korshunovas Theatre (Vilnius, Lithuania) and famous “Schaubune am Leniner Platz” company from Berlin (the latter Hamlet was staged by one oftoday's most innovative directors Thomas Ostermeier. There were also several interpretations of King Lear including one done by a puppet theatre.

Theatre of Nations turned out its own Shakespearean premiere — the musical Romeo and Juliet staged by wellknown theatrical experimenter Vladimir Pankov.

Theatre of Nations itself is a major producer of plays. Its playbill stands out for the wide variety of genres and names of directors. Today its repertoire features the works of brilliant young hopeful: Chekhov's Swedish Match staged by Nikita Grishpun; Letters to Felicia (based on Kafka's letters) by Kirill Sbitnev; The Desolate West and Shosha by graduate of the Russian Theatre Academy Tufan Imamutdinov. These are run side by side with productions by world-famous theatre practitioners: Shukshin's Stories staged by one of the leading European directors Alvis Hermanis (Latvia); the choreographic novella Poor Lisa to the music of Leonid Desyatnikov's chamber opera translated into the language of dance by renowned Russian choreographer and ballerina Alla Sigalova; Gronholm Method by Jordi Galceran, Killer Joe by Tracy Letts staged by Bulgarian director Javor Gardev and Caligula by worldfamous director Eimuntas Nekrosius.

The productions of Theatre of Nations often become big theatrical events. This holds true not only for the cult production of Shukshin's Stories, a regular entry to prestigious European festivals (in Vienna, Hannover, Helsinki, Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius, Tel-Aviv, Amsterdam, Lyons, Berlin), winner of the national Golden Mask Award (in three nomination), Moscow's Chrystal Turandot Award (also in three nominations) and many other prizes. The “younger generation's“ Swedish Match also received Chrystal Turandot along with the award of „Golden Knight” Festival and the Grand-Prix of RUSSK OFF Russian Art Festival in Nice. It was also nominated for the Golden Mask Award (in two nominations) and so was the dance piece Poor Lisa.