Penza Regional Drama Theater named after A.V. Lunacharsky

Theatrical history in Penza began in 1793, when the play “The Cheater” was staged based on the play written by Empress Catherine II. From this moment we can talk about the beginning of the city stationary theater. Prior to this, performances were regularly held in the house of Governor I.M. Dolgoruky, who provided serious support to the theater.

A little more than a hundred years after the beginning of theatrical activity in Penza, in 1896 the Penza People’s Theatre was established in the city. He gave a way into life to many future celebrities - V. E. Meyerhold, D. S. Volkov, O. M. Munt, I. I. Mozjukhin took part in the productions. All of them were engaged in the local drama circle named after V.G. Belinsky.

In 1916, a separate building was built for the theater, which was located on the Bazaar Square and at first was called the “People’s House named after Emperor Alexander II”. There was a drama theater in this building until 2008. However, in 2008, a fire almost completely destroyed the building, of which only the walls remained. After the demolition of the burned building, the theater moved to a new one, built in 2010.