The Balashov Drama Theater opened in 1918 with the performance of L.N. Tolstoy "The Power of Darkness." In different years, directors and actors worked here: Bityutsky V.S., Balaev A.G., Popov I.S., Tokmakov E.A., Borisova A.G., Aleksandrov L.N., Fomenko V.G. , Rudyakov A., Nikitina N.Ya., Kornyukov L.A.
What kind of theater is this? What is the repertoire of the Balashov Drama Theater? Where it is located? It is about the theater and its history that will be discussed in the article.
Background
According to legend, the fugitive peasant Balash settled in the place where the modern city is located. Later, a settlement arose here, which began to be called his name. In 1780, the village of Balashovo became a city in which there were about 60 yards. The urban settlement was expanding, and by 1838 there were already about 230 houses and more than 2,000 inhabitants, and by 1910 the population was 22 thousand people. Before the revolution, the city was a typical outback.
Mugs, the birth and formation of the theater
Soviet power in the city was established immediately after the Revolution. Numerous creative circles started their activity in the city, on the basis of which in 1918 a nationwide theater was created.
Over the year, after the opening of the theater, more than 20 performances were shown, among them Ostrovsky's âForestâ, Gogol's âThe Examinerâ, Gorky's âAt the Bottomâ.
From 1921 to 1922 Over 80 performances were staged. The popularity of the theater was very large, about 250 people attended each performance. The repertoire of the theater and the composition of the troupe were updated annually. Theater life and activities were covered on the pages of the local newspaper Izvestia.
Theater in Soviet times
In the 30s, the form of work in the theater changed dramatically: permanent troupes began to form, which favorably affected his repertoire.
The theater began to leave with its performances in villages, where the main tasks were to agitate the peasants for the best sowing and political work among the population.
In 1934, the theater became the first Interdistrict Collective Farm and State Farm Theater.
The repertoire of the renovated theater included the performances: Kirshon V. âWonderful raftingâ, Bill-Belotserkovsky V. âLife is callingâ, Gorky M. âEgor Bulychevâ, Furmanova D. âRebellionâ.
A year later, the theater took second place at a republican-scale viewing of collective-farm and state-owned theaters in Moscow.
The work of the theater in the village continued. In addition to performances, sketches and concerts were prepared, at which ditties were performed.
The theaterâs repertoire at that time included plays: Afinogenova A. âFarâ, Gusev V. âGloryâ, Brushtein A. âTo Be Continuedâ, Pogodin N. âAristocratsâ, Gorky M. âThe Lastâ; for children, the works of Schwartz A. "Treasure", Kron A. "Rifle" were delivered.
The theater was very popular with the collective farm audience.
Over three years, more than 700 performances were staged, which were seen by about 250 regular viewers. The theater helped collective farm circles, issued a wall newspaper, every theater visit to the village was a holiday.
The best in the repertoire of the Balashov Drama Theater at that time were considered the performances of such plays: A. Ostrovsky âThe truth is good, but happiness is betterâ, Gorky M. âThe Lastâ, Korneychuk A. âPlato Krechetâ, Gusev V. âGloryâ, Gorky âChildren of the Sunâ.
In 1937, the theater became urban.
Before the war, the Balashov Drama Theater staged plays: Prut I. âThe Nineteenth Yearâ, Rakhmanov L. âRestless Old Ageâ, Tour E. âFull-timeâ, based on the novel by Virta E. âEarthâ, Shkvarkina V.V. âLonelinessâ and âSimple Girlâ, based on Ostrovsky N.'s novel âHow Steel Was Temperedâ, A. Ostrovsky Thunderstorm, Schiller F. âCunning and Loveâ, Gorky M. âVassa Zheleznovaâ, Korneychuk A. âThe Death of the Squadronâ, Markish P. âThe Ovadis Familyâ, VA Naydenova âChildren of Vanyushinâ, Balzac O. âStepmotherâ.
The best performances of the season 1938-1939. The productions of Skiba E.âs play âA Glass of Waterâ and the novel by Voynich E. âGadflyâ were recognized.
In the season 1940-1941. plays were staged: Gorky M. "The Last", Ostrovsky A.N. âGuilty of no faultâ, Devala âThe Governessâ, Shkvarkina V.V. âAlien Childâ, based on the novel by I. Goncharov âCliffâ, Treneva K. âLove of Springâ, Calderon P. âThe Invisible Ladyâ, Ostrovsky A.N. The Last Victim, Nettles K.K. "Who laughs last."
The big event was the production of Gogol's comedy N.V. The Examiner.
Years of war
In the 41st year, a war came to the country, many actors went to the front as volunteers. The war turned the life of the theater on a war footing. The repertoire began to be dominated by military-themed performances; plays were staged: K. Simonova, âThe Guy from Our City,â A. Korneychuk, âFront,â A. Afinogenov. âOn the Eveâ, Mdivani G. âHonorâ, ââGorky M. âEgor Bulychevâ, Simonova K. âRussian Peopleâ, Chekhov A.P. Vaudeville and many others. Time was very difficult, the city was constantly bombed, the theater was not heated, there were problems with electricity, but, despite all the hardships of wartime, it continued to work.
The post-war life of the theater
After the war ended, the theater began to switch to a peaceful way of life, which was reflected in its repertoire, works were staged: Mass and Chervinsky âSomewhere in Moscowâ, Lavrentev B. âBreakâ, Naidenov S. âChildren of Vanyushinâ, Ostrovsky A N. âPoverty is not a viceâ, Goldoni K. âMistress of the hotelâ. For the first post-war season, 9 performances were staged, the best of which were Children of Vanyushin.
In 1948, the theater was withdrawn from state subsidies and transferred to cost accounting. The right to independently compose his repertoire was transferred to him, but the Regional Culture Department still claimed it.
The performance âDowryâ by A. Ostrovsky, who put forward the Balashov Drama Theater in first place among the theaters of the region, was very popular among the audience.
In 1957, the theater became regional, having lost the status of regional.
In 1964, a major overhaul of the building was carried out.
About 750 performances have been staged in the theater over its entire history of existence; in different years about 40 actors and directors worked here. The most famous of them: Karataev Alexey, Spelov Victor, Borisova Anna, Bityutsky Veniamin, Yukhnevich Innocent, Andreev Boris, Radionova Galina.
In 1989, the building was declared damaged, from then until 2017 the theater did not have its own stage.
Theater at the present time
Currently, the theater annually shows more than 280 performances. It is widely known in all areas of the Saratov region.
The theater is headed by Vladimir Popov, Honored Artist of Russia, 23 actors work here.
The theater organizes exhibitions of stage costumes, charity performances. He works with youth; in 2016, the Youth and Theater Forum was held.
At the turn of the 100th anniversary, the theater received its own stage, which it lost in 1989. The stage is equipped with modern technical capabilities. The new theater complex now also has a summer playground.
The opening of the Balashov Drama Theater, a new stage, took place on September 3, 2017. On this day, the premiere of the play "Hanuma".
Modern poster of the Balashov Drama Theater
In the contemporary theater poster, performances staged based on the works:
- Pushkin A. âFeast during the Plagueâ and âMozart and Salieriâ.
- Ostrovsky A. âWhy you go, you will findâ and âHoliday dream - before lunch.â
- Chekhov A. âProposalâ and âAnniversaryâ.
- Erdman N. "The Suicide" and "The Marriage of Figaro."
- Patrick D. Strange Mrs. Savage.
For children, performances based on works were staged:
- Andersen G. âThe Princess and the Swineherdâ.
- Chepovetsky Y. "Kytsyk and Mytsyk."
- Ilyukhova I. âAs Nastenka, she did not become a little kikimora.â
Theater actors love to experiment. Once the theater tried to work with dolls, a puppet show based on the works of Samsonova A. âAn Old French Taleâ, Dvorsky V. âThe Jumping Princessâ was put on for children.
The repertoire of the theater includes more than 30 performances, the basis of which is classical drama, a third of all performances are addressed to the children's audience.
Address of the Balashov Drama Theater: Saratov Region, the city of Balashov, Rabochaya Street, 32A.
The theater operates from 9 am to 6 pm, the official day off is Monday.