Rostov Drama Theater named after M. Gorky

The founding date of the Academic Drama Theater. M. Gorky is considered to be June 23, 1863 , when the first stationary troupe of the theater was created.

The construction of the theater building was conceived in 1929 . A wasteland was chosen between the recently united Rostov and Nakhichevan-on-Don cities. In 1930, the All-Union Open Competition was announced, for which 25 projects were submitted, 6 of which received prizes. The first prize in the competition was awarded to the Red Poppy project, completed by G. B. Barkhin and M. G. Barkhin (with B. G. Barkhin ). They received a cash bonus. However, after getting acquainted with the project of V. Schuko and V. Gelfreich that came later and did not participate in the general competition, it was decided to use it ^[1] . The architectural forms of the building were based on the stylization of a caterpillar tractor, most likely, the first Soviet tractor “ Kommunar ” .

In 1935, construction was completed. From the memoirs of a direct participant in the construction of the theater:

“I also took part in the construction of the theater, which I already wrote to you about, as far as the authors of this theater were guided, I can’t say, since the project was sent to us from Moscow, where it was drawn, and the calculations of all the designs were made in Rostov, 40% by me. (The hanging balcony in the hall is my whole design and calculation.) I am not an architect and therefore I was not entitled to change the project in anything, but in general the theater (in my opinion) is very good in operation, convenient, and can still be considered modern, that is, technically modern. I remember when they opened it, they came, architects even watch it from abroad. Then there was no such theater in all of Europe. ” ^[2]

The theater opened with the performance "Rebellion" based on the novel of the same name by D. A. Furmanov . It is known that in the course of the action a whole cavalry was brought to the scene.

In 1936-1940, the theater was led by one of the largest Soviet directors of that time - Yuri Alexandrovich Zavadsky . Together with him, part of his troupe is also being transferred to Rostov: V.P. Maretskaya , R. Ya. Plyatt , ND Mordvinova . According to the official version, the director “should have set an example in mastering a huge stage”.

In 1938-1947, the theater was headed by Arthur Mikhailovich Lukovsky, one of the prominent artists, known not only in Rostov-on-Don, but throughout the Soviet Union. Under his leadership, the theater won union-wide creative recognition. During the war, Arthur Mikhailovich organized the evacuation of not only the staff and all the valuable property of the theater, but also many residents of the city who needed help. Being evacuated, Arthur Mikhailovich, together with the theater troupe, goes to the factories of Kovrov and other cities, supports the fighting spirit of the Red Army soldiers, performing with performances and concerts in the active forces of the Southern Front. In those same years, the premiere of the play “Field Marshal Kutuzov” was held in Kovrov, about which the newspaper “Worker Land” for February 1943 writes like this: “Field Marshal Kutuzov” by Solovyov - a work that tells about the heroic past of the Russian people ... The audience watches the heroic with exciting attention the exploits of Russian soldiers and partisans, admiring the high valor and military skill of their superiors. "In Order No. 370 of the Rostov Regional Department of Arts on May 1, 1942," Feldma's restored and shown performances are said EAS Kutuzov - Soloviev and "Professor Polezhaev" - Rakhmanov sounded like performances enormous political significance and is a major contribution to the collective theater in the common cause of the Soviet people's struggle against the German occupiers. " The newspaper Pravda on August 27, 1943 published a large article entitled "Heroic Theater", which refers to the great work carried out by the theater during the evacuation period. On November 17, 1943, the Rostov newspaper Molot No. 238 published an article entitled The Wonderful Theater about the theater’s return to its hometown, in which the famous Soviet writer Lydia Seyfullina says: “The Rostov theater team, led by the director and artistic director, firmly resisted all disasters kept the best traditions of the Russian actor, his dedicated service to art. The troupe is strong with various talents, because of which its team is strong, because it did not break up and did not die out in the trials of war. ” After returning to Rostov, A. Lukovsky was one of the initiators of the foundation for the restoration of the city of Rostov-on-Don, for which the theater received government gratitude.

In the late thirties, the facade was lined with Italian marble, the rest of the theater with granite and Inkerman limestone. On the second tier appeared high relief compositions “The death of Vendée” and “Iron Stream”, made by the sculptor S. G. Korolkov . In total, 7 million bricks, 8 thousand tons of Inkerman limestone, 3.9 thousand tons of marble, 3 thousand tons of granite were used for the construction.

With the outbreak of World War II, the theater did not stop its work. And during the evacuation did not even change the composition of his troupe. In 1943, the Nazis, retreating from Rostov, blew up the theater building. For 20 years, the troupe of the theater held its performances in the building of the current Philharmonic. And only in 1963 the theater building was restored on Theater Square. It was a gift to the centenary of the theater. True, the theater has become much smaller. Due to its unusual shape, the theater is unofficially called the Tractor.

A great creative contribution was made by the director Nikolai Evgenievich Sorokin , who directed the theater for 17 years - from 1996 to March 2013. With the name of N. E. Sorokin, the success of the theater is connected not only in Russia, but also abroad.

Since July 15, 2014, the artistic director and director of the theater has been Honored Artist of Russia, Moscow City Prize Laureate, playwright Alexander Pudin . New bright pages in the creative life of the Rostov Academic Drama Theater named after M. Gorky are associated with his name. During the two years of leadership of this collective, performances were created that defined a new vector of its development. A. Pudin returned to the theater’s repertoire Don literature, which emphasized the originality and originality of the Rostov drama. The play “Quiet Don” based on the novel by M. Sholokhov directed by the director and Golden Mask Prize winner Gennady Shaposhnikov has become a true hallmark of the theater and the whole Don. Rostov's “Silent Don” was twice shown with resounding success on the stage of the renowned Maly Theater, and won the Grand Prix of the XIII Golden Vityaz International Theater Festival. On May 16, 2015 in Rostov-on-Don the All -Don premiere of “Quiet Don” took place, which, thanks to street screens, as well as TV and Internet broadcasts, was watched by more than 3.5 million viewers in the Don, in Russia and abroad. The production of “Gypsies” based on the novel of the same name by the Don writer A. Kalinin became bright, filled with national color and genuine human feelings.

On July 19, 2016, by order of the Chairman of the Government of Russia Dmitry Medvedev , the Rostov Academic Drama Theater named after M. Gorky was awarded the Fedor Volkov Russian Government Prize “for his contribution to the development of theatrical art of the Russian Federation”.

On October 7, 2016, the performance “Silent Don” was presented at the Baltic Theater International Theater Festival in St. Petersburg. ^[3]

• Commemorative plaque on the building
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  S. G. Korolkov

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  Future generations

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  N. E. Sorokin

The building was built in 1935 according to the project of academician of architecture V.A. Schuko and professor V. G. Gelfreich . All stage equipment was designed by engineer I.V. Eskuzovich ^[4] . The construction was carried out by a team of employees of Teatrostroy (the director was A. M. Stambler). After the construction was completed, many experts called the theater one of the best in the country.

The appearance of the theater resembles a piano. Initially, it was faced with white Inkerman stone , and part of the facade with white marble , the pilasters at the entrance to the theater were from a polished labrador . The main staircases were also lined with natural marble, and the lobby, foyer, and auditorium were artificial with marble. The large hall was designed for 2250 spectators and was intended for stage performances, while the small one - for variety and concert performances. The theater building also included a library and a museum. The facade of the building is decorated with high reliefs by Sergey Korolkov ^[4] . The main disadvantage of the building was poor acoustics.

Such large architects as Le Corbusier and Oscar Niemeyer called the theater the pearl of Soviet architecture ^[5] .

The theater restored by 1963 became much smaller. The reconstruction project was carried out by architects V. M. Anikin, V. N. Razumovsky , V. V. Leontiev under the direction of N. N. Semenenko and in consultation with Professor V. G. Gelfreikh. A complete redevelopment of the interior of the building was carried out. The capacity of the halls has significantly decreased, many sofas, pantries, a kindergarten-nursery have been eliminated, only one stage circle has remained. The main part of the marble cladding has disappeared. However, the acoustics have improved significantly. On the back of the building was built a stage, which became known as the " Green Theater " ^[6] .

Currently, there are three stages in the theater building: the Large Hall with 1165 seats (stage dimensions: width - 23 m, depth - 22 m, height - 22 m), Small Hall with 300 seats and the Experimental Stage with 70 seats. In addition, in the west wing there is an ART gallery, which hosts exhibitions and sales of works of art, and an art cafe, Theater Square No. 1.

• 1936 - Prize at the 4th International Festival of Theater Arts (director Yu. A. Zavadsky ).
• 1976 - State Prize of the RSFSR im. K. S. Stanislavsky for the play "Quiet Flows the Don" based on the novel by M. A. Sholokhov.
• 1980 - awarded the honorary title "Academic".
• 1995 - first prize at the All-Russian Festival "Russian Classics" for an experimental search in the development of dramaturgy by A. S. Pushkin (the play "Little Tragedies", directed by K. Serebrennikov ).
• 2005 - the best performance and award for the original production at the All-Russian Theater Festival "Stars of Victory" (Ryazan) - a performance based on the story of M. A. Sholokhov "The Fate of Man" (director N. E. Sorokin ).
• 2010 - the best performance at the IV Theater Festival (Nikolaev, Ukraine) of the international Black Sea club HOMO LUDENS ("The Man Playing") for staging the play based on the work of A.P. Chekhov "The Cherry Orchard" (director N. E. Sorokin ).
• 2010 - Prize at the IV All-Russian Theater Festival "Russian Comedy" for the original production of the name of Nikolai Akimov - the play "The Cherry Orchard" (director N. E. Sorokin ).
• 2014 - diploma of the participant of the All-Russian Festival "Theater Meetings in the Caucasus. Lermontov and the Caucasus ”in Stavropol“ For high creative achievements ”for the play“ Masquerade ”by M. Yu. Lermontov .
• 2015 - Grand Prix of the XIII International Theater Festival “Golden Knight” for the performance “Quiet Don” (director G.V. Shaposhnikov), Golden diploma for the best scenography to Viktor Gerasimenko, Golden diploma for the best music to Alexei Shelygin, Golden diploma “For the best male role ”- grandfather Grishaki performed by People’s Artist of the RSFSR Igor Bogodukh .
• 2016 - Prize of the Government of Russia named after Fedor Volkov "for contribution to the development of theatrical art of the Russian Federation."

In 2012, the troupe of the theater was supplemented by graduates of the Rostov branch of the St. Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts (course leader, People's Artist of the Russian Federation N. Sorokin ).

• RATD them. Gorky on the site "Cinema-theatr.ru"
• The building of the Drama Theater on a map of Rostov-on-Don
• Live Rostov
• Monuments of Don
• Passion Boulevard, 10
• Novosibdom.Ru
• The Golden Age of Rostov drama // Donskoy Temporary / Don State Public Library. Rostov-on-Don, 1993—2014