The Kiev Youth Music and Drama Theatre (the Theatre, for short) was established in 1979 on approval of the Council of Ministers and by order of the Ukrainian SSR Ministry of Culture.
Creation of the first professional theatre for the young was quite an event. The stage was expected to be a creative laboratory for young specialists: directors, designers, actors.
After a long competition, 26 actors were enlisted to the Theatre's company. Most of them graduated from Karpenko-Kary University of Theatre, Film and TV. A management team was elected. Organisational problems, housing concerns, leasing of premises did not hinder the Theatre to debut its season with a premiere of "I Will Come Back to You in Spring!" on 26 April 1980.
The purpose of the Theatre and its artistic conceptions were determined by its name — the Youth Theatre. Creative young people formed the basis of the team. And the Theatre's repertoire satisfied interests of primarily young audience.
The Theatre's premieres have always been quite events in artistic life of Kiev showing unusual innovative approach. A legendary performance "After Two Hares" directed by Viktor Shulakov and with two talented young actors Tatyana Yatsenko and Yaroslav Gavriluk in the lead has always been the most popular show of the Theatre. It is still the Theatre's "visiting card" and always sold out even though it has been played over 750 times at the Theatre's stage!
The Theatre was the first one in Ukraine that staged "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" written by Lewis Carroll and translated by Boris Zakhoder, and the comedy "Cylinder". A premiere of "The Small Football Team" by Yuri Shcherbak was staged in the Theatre; the play is about true love and premature death of Kiev poet Leonid Kiselyov. It was in the Theatre where "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" directed by Yaroslav Stelmakh and Viktor Shulakov was staged in Old Russian language. A performance based on the play "Nailing" by Volodymyr Vynnychenko and directed by Vladimir Ogloblin was staged in the Theatre for the first time ever in Ukraine. A very interesting and ingenious director V. Bilchenko started his career in the Theatre. His productions "Archaeology" and "And B. Said" caused many arguments among theatre historians of the time.
Meanwhile, it was not as easy as it may look. The Theatre's way was thorny and painful. It underwent many sever trials and numerous strokes of misfortune.
A prohibited performance "The Constant Prince" based on the play by Pedro Calderon, displacement of the first Theatre's director, frequently changed art directors (nobody could stay for more than 2 or 3 years) did their dirty part and harm to the creative biography of the Theatre and its then popularity.
The Theatre was leaded by such directors as Alexander Zabolotniy, Nikolai Merzlikin, Les Tanuk, Vladimir Ogloblin, Viktor Shalukov, Valentin Kozmenko-Delinde. Each of them changed the artistic life of the Theatre in his own way. And the Theatre experienced surges, dead times and depressions…
In 1988, the Theatre finally got its own building in 17 Proreznaya Street. It was inaugurated in March 1989 with a premiere of the performance "Nailing" by Volodymyr Vynnychenko and directed by Vladimir Ogloblin. It should have worked out for the best in the Theatre — upsurge of creative efforts, new outlooks, success, but in 1990, Vladimir Ogloblin suddenly left the Theatre — and again new searches, expectations, ups and downs.
In 1993, a group of actors leaded by director B. Bilchenko separated from the Theatre and founded their own Experimental Theatre.
In 1995, the Theatre was renamed the Kiev Youth Theatre in honour of a prominent Ukrainian director and reformer Les Kurbas who in the 1920s founded the Youth Theatre in the same building in 17 Proreznaya Street. Today, actors of the modern Theatre take to the stage and try to keep to the principles worded and implemented in art by ingenious Les Kurbas.
In December 1996, a talented director Stanislav Moiseyev headed the Theatre. By that time, he had already staged over 40 performances in different Ukrainian theatres and abroad. His first production "Don Juan" raised the company to a new level and made it one of the most popular theatres in Kiev. The Theatre participated in three international festivals with this show and was highly praised by specialists and spectators. The "Don Juan" has three awards of "Kievskaya pectoral".
During the years of its existence, despite all problems on its creative way, the Theatre has produced more than 100 shows and has quite an ingenious and distinctive team. The repertoire includes the classic drama and contemporary authors from Ukraine and other countries.
Together with Stanislav Moiseyev the Theatre managed to rise from decay to absolute renewal and earn fame of a leading Kiev theatre.
The Theatre's performances have fresh and unexpected view of classic drama and very professional direction aimed to the modern spectator in common.
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