Buy tickets to the most famed theater.
During Soviet times, going to theaters was considered to be a sign of good breeding and intellectuality. Now it doesn’t really indicate anything but personal preferences and tastes. In Kyiv the theater scene is flourishing and new experimental theaters keep on opening up. However, not all of Kyiv’s many theaters are worth visiting. So we decided to find out which Kyiv theater deserves being called the best. A theater needs to fulfill a lengthy list of criteria to earn the title. It should have beautiful and unique architecture, a large concert hall with good acoustics and plenty of seating room. The staff and quality of theatrical works presented is equally, if not even more, important.
Actor Theater, formed in 1987, is situated at Velyka Zhytomyrska. The permanent staff includes 12 actors, lead by theater director Valentyn Shestopalov. Till the end of this month, five plays, including “Lavka,”(Bench) “Gitel & Jerry,” “Grayemo Strinberga,” (“Playing Strindberg”) “Smak Chereshni” (“Taste of Cherry”) and “Lysty Lyubovi” (“Letters of Love”), will be performed here. All the plays start at 7 p.m. on working days and at 5 p.m. on weekends. Tickets cost Hr 20. The main drawback of the theater is that the plays are performed only twice a week: on Wednesdays and Sundays. The theater’s hall is not very big as well and has about 90 sitting places.
The only Ukrainian private non-commercial modern art center, named DAKH (“Roof”), was established in 1994 by Vladyslav Troitskiy. Officially, the aim of DAKH Theater is “to change Ukraine’s cultural situation by developing new forms of theater organization.” The plays performed at DAKH have a more experimental approach than ones performed at most other theaters in Kyiv. In general, the aim of the theater is interesting, but it may not suit the tastes of people who like traditional theater. The theater also has a lot of its own, strange rules. For example, you can’t buy tickets on the day of the play; you should order them at least one day in advance. One of the strangest rules is that visitors cannot wear street shoes to the shows – upon entering the DAKH hall you should put on slippers. Also, if you’re late you won’t be allowed in to the hall, and nobody will return your money for tickets.
The Drama and Comedy Theater, situated by the Livoberezhna metro station, was formed in 1978. However, it didn’t have its own space until 1982, when the city government put the former “Kosmos” cinema at the theater’s disposal. Since 2000, the Drama and Comedy Theater has had its own theater-choreographic studio for children. Plays are held almost every day and the theater hall is big enough to accommodate 400 people. Unfortunately, on the March 15, the Drama and Comedy Theater caught on fire and much of the theater, and even the stage, were burned. Because of this, the theater stopped performances for two weeks. Now the theater functions but suffers from a lack of decorations, costumes and props.
Lesya Ukrainka Russian Drama Theater is situated in a historical part of Kyiv. The official history of Lesya Ukrayinka Theater starts in 1926, although it was formed in 1891 by famous Russian theater actor and director Nikolay Solovtsov. Nowadays its repertoire consists of 35 plays of different genres. The theater is notable for its realistic and classical plays. Notable ones that are being performed now are “Napoleon and Corsican,” “Don Quixote,” “The Importance of Being Earnest” and youth performance “Illusion.” Lesya Ukrainka Theater has a large hall with 750 seats. The staff includes 85 skillful and talented actors.
The most famous theater actors belong to the troupe of Ivan Franko Ukrainian Drama Theater. The creative staff of the theater consists of legendary Ukrainian actors Bohdan Stupka, Bohdan Benyuk, Anatoliy Khostikoyev and others. The theater’s staff includes 92 actors, 13 ballet dancers, 10 chorus singers and 21 members of orchestra. Ivan Franko Theater was formed in Vinnytsya in 1920 by a few young talented people, who later went down in the history of Ukrainian theater as outstanding actors. Since 1926 the theatre has been based in Kyiv. The most notable plays that are being performed at Ivan Franko Theater are “Tevye Tevel,” “Shveyk,” “Pigmalion” and “Romeo and Juliet.” On top of everything else, Ivan Franko Theater has one of the biggest halls in Ukraine, accommodating 928 people.
Ivan Franko Ukrainian Drama Theater (3 Ploshcha Ivana Franka, 229-5921)
