Irkutsk Academic Drama Theater named after Nikolai Okhlopkov

Irkutsk Drama Theatre is the oldest in Siberia. The idea of its creation first arose at the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries, when the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia was B. Lezzano, patronizing the scenic hobbies of citizens. Subsequently, almost all of his successors as governor supported the theater business in Irkutsk.

In 1850, one of the wandering acting troupes remained forever in Irkutsk for permanent work, and in fact from this moment began the countdown of the history of professional theater. The very first productions were staged in the building of the Noble Assembly, and the next year the construction of a separate building for the theater was completed.

In 1857, on the stage of the Irkutsk Theatre, the All-Russian premiere of the comedy by A.N. Ostrovsky “Our People – Let’s Count!” took place, after which plays by other authors are staged one after another. In 1897, a new theater building was opened, on the stage of which leading Russian actors performed in the following years. In Irkutsk, directors Nikolai Okhlopkov and Leonid Gaidai, future famous artists Leonid Broneva and Gleb Strizhenov began their creative career. In 1967, the theater was named after N. P. Okhlopkov, and after a little more than thirty years it became an academic theater. Now the theater is the leading cultural institution in the region, is also a regular participant of international and Russian festivals, actively tours.