Saratov Drama Theater

Saratov Drama Theater (Russian: Саратовский академический театр драмы имени И. А. Слонова) is located in the city of Saratov, Russia. This is one of the oldest theaters in Russia.

The theater began its history in 1859. Before this actors from Moscow and St. Petersburg came to Saratov, but they played in the houses of rich people only for them, a city theater was not.

In 1859, the Saratov merchant (from German descent) Franz Schechtel (ru: Франц Осипович Шехтель) has attached to your home theater. For the first time the theater opened its doors to all residents of Saratov. The theater burned down several times by fires and rebuilt.

The city has not had his troupe, but actors of other cities soon began to come. They played the famous Russian drama actors of 19th century: Piotr Medvedev (ru: Пётр Михайлович Медведев), Nicolay Sobolschikov-Samarin (ru: Собольщиков-Самарин, Николай Иванович), Alexandr Lenskiy (ru: Александр Павлович Ленский), Mariya Savina (ru: Савина, Мария Гавриловна), Vladimir Davydov (ru: Владимир Николаевич Давыдов), Pelagueya Strepetova (ru: Стрепетова, Полина Антипьевна), Vasiliy Kachalov (ru: Качалов, Василий Иванович), etc.

In 1915 a large group of actors has moved from Kiev to Saratov, Saratov has appeared in the troupe. Among the actors who came was a famous Russian actor Ivan Slonov. He has worked in the theater 30 years until his death in 1945.

After the Revolution, the theater moved the Soviet regime and became known as Drama Theatre named Karl Marx. En 1968 le nouveau et moderne bâtiment du théâtre a été construit. In 1968 it built a new theater building.

In 1990, when Soviet power came to an end, the theater began to carry the name Ivan Slonov.

Now it is one of the oldest and most famous theaters in Russia. His repertoire consists of classical plays and contemporary authors.