Sergei Sobyanin tells what Sovremennik, Tabakerka, Durov Animal Theater, Helikon Opera, etc. look like after reconstruction

Sergei Sobyanin congratulated Moscow actors and all drama-lovers on the World Theatre Day; the Moscow Mayor wrote about this on his blog.

It has been one year since the complete rollback of QR codes, face masks and other COVID-19 restrictions, which were bound on the capital’s theaters in 2020 and 2021, and in 2022 they delighted the audience with 277 premieres.

“5.4 million people attended 26,000 performances and shows, which is twice as many as during the pandemic in 2020. Theatrical art is fantastically relevant and popular with Muscovites and guests of the capital,” noted Sergei Sobyanin.

Moscow theaters boast a great theatre directing approach, amazing artists and professional employees, he says. “The Moscow Government aims to ensure that they have as many opportunities to implement their creative ideas as possible,” the Moscow Mayor emphasized.

In 2011, they audited physical infrastructure of the theaters to find out that only a quarter of them were good, while the rest needed repairs or total reconstruction.

“We had to do a gargantuan job — overwhelming, at first glance. Moreover, many theaters are located in buildings that are cultural heritage sites requiring a special attitude. One could, of course, choose to do nothing or do some ‘showpiece’ restoration, but then Moscow theaters would begin to lose their audience in a few years. Young people simply would not go to performances that are much worse than commercial shows or what can be seen abroad,” Sergei Sobyanin wrote.

The repair, reconstruction or restoration projects were created for each Moscow theater on a case-by-case basis, depending on the history, focus, repertoire, and plans of their artistic directors. The stages were equipped with up-to-date equipment, and the teams were offered new opportunities.

Since 2013, they have built, reconstructed and overhauled 85 buildings of 40 Moscow theaters, including Kuklachev Cat Theater, Nikitsky Gate Theater, Shadow Theater, Stanislavsky Electrotheater, Taganka Theater, Theater on Pokrovka, Sovremennik Theater, Et Cetera Theater, Helikon-Opera, Magic Lamp Theater, School of Modern Drama Theater, Vedogon’-Theater, Russian Song Theater, Theater on Malaya Bronnaya, Durov Animal Theater, Alexander Gradsky Theater, Roman Viktyuk Theater and Oleg Tabakov Theater to name a few.

The main theatrical event of 2023 would be the re-opening of the Variety Theater, as its restoration in the famous House on the Embankment is almost complete.

“The situation is now exactly the opposite. Whereas only a quarter of city theaters were in good condition a decade ago, today 70 per cent of theaters are very good with only 30 per cent of them requiring repair. 30 per cent is also a lot, though. That is why we will continue our long-lasting efforts, expanding opportunities for creativity and creating ground for the blossoming of new talents,” Sergei Sobyanin emphasized.