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Maly Drama Theatre (MDT)

Maly Drama Theatre in St Petersburg

In 1944 the Maly Drama Theater was opened in Leningrad. The composition of the theater troupe was small, and performances were given only in small towns and villages of the Leningrad region.

In 1973, the theater began a new life. With the arrival of the chief director Yefim Padva, young and talented directors and famous playwrights began to be involved in the cooperation of the theater. Since then, the theater began gain fame in Leningrad. Since 1983, Lev Dodin has become the artistic director of the small drama theater. Today, the Maly Drama Theater of St. Petersburg is one of the most popular theaters in Russia, which has received worldwide recognition.

Some performances, which were first performed on the stage of the small drama theater, gained wide popularity throughout the world. For example, the play “Brothers and Sisters” based on Abramov’s novel has traveled to most European countries, the USA and Japan. The performance has been awarded many prizes, not only domestic, but also foreign. Many performances of the Maly Drama Theater also become laureates of the National Golden Mask Award/Zolotaya Maska.

In 1992, the MDT was invited to join the European Theaters Union, where it now conducts tremendous international work. In 1998, the theater was awarded the status of "Theater of Europe". Only three theaters were awarded this honorary title - the Odeon in Paris, Piccolo in Milan and the Maly Drama Theater in St. Petersburg.

It must be said, the glory that has fallen on MDT is not accidental. The Maly Drama Theater has become the leader of world theater performances. The performances staged here have been shown in more than sixty cities in Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, South and North America.

Young directors and actors from the United States, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, France, Switzerland, Spain, Finland, Hungary, Scandinavia undergo an internship at the Maly Drama Theater. Among the domestic artists of the theater are such masters as: Peter Semak, Ksenia Rappoport, Alexander Zavyalov, Sergey Kozyrev, Natalya Akimova, Tatyana Shestakova, Tatyana Shuko and many others.

In 1999, a small chamber stage with 50 seats was opened. Young talented actors and directors try their hand at this scene.

In recent decades, MDT remains one of the recognized leaders of the world theatrical process. The performances of the theater were shown in almost all corners of the globe - in more than sixty cities in Europe, Australia, South and North America, Southeast Asia, and today foreign spectators judge the level of Russian theatrical art in many respects by the performances of MDT.

On December 3, 2014, the Council for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage under the Government of St. Petersburg approved the Construction Project of the New Stage of the Academic Maly Drama Theater - the Theater of Europe at ul. Zvenigorodskaya, 7. The project involves the construction of a new theatrical complex with preservation of the historic facade of a two-story building of the former fodder yard of the Semenovsky regiment. The theater will be able to receive up to 600 spectators in the hall of the main building and 75 on the Chamber stage. The authors of the project concept are Lev Dodin and Alexander Borovsky. The idea of ​​building the New Stage of the Theater has been approved by the Government of the Russian Federation.

The opening of the New Stage of the Academic Maly Drama Theater - the Theater of Europe is scheduled for 2018.

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