Maly Theatre (Moscow)

 theatre, place with historical importance, listed building / architectural heritage, 1820s construction

The Maly or Small theater is often considered the oldest theater in Russia. Its troupe was associated with that created initially by students at the Moscow University in 1756.

During these years the troupe replenished its actors from serf theaters. In 1805, the building in which the theater performed burned down, and the troupe remained without a stage. However, by 1806, a new group, the Imperial theaters, was formed. Its performers acted on different stages platforms until the architect Bove suggested building a theatrical center in Moscow.

In 1824 Bove had reconstructed the private residence of merchant Vasily Vargin to include a theater, and the dramatic section of the Moscow troupe of Imperial theater received its own building on Petrovsky Street (nowadays Teatralny Passage) and its own name - Small theater.

In 1841 following another fire, Konstantin Thon assembled a larger property and rebuilt the theater in a neoclassical style similar to that of Bove. After this smoking was forbidden on the property to prevent further conflagrations.

The Maly's repertoire concentrates on the Russian classics, frequently dramas or history plays, with productions whose dramatic style is rarely ground breaking. A statue of the 19th century playwright, Aleksandr Ostrovsky (1823-1886), whose plays are often performed here, stands at the entrance.