Vanadzor Hovhannes Abelyan State Drama Theatre

About

The theatre opened in 1931 as the State Theatre of Gharakilisa (Vanadzor’s old name) and was the third theatre in Armenia. Before it was founded, actors toured the region in amateur troupes. One of them, Hovhannes Abelyan, helped them so much that the new theatre was named after him.Over the years the stage hosted major actors such as Vahram Papazyan, Hrachya Nersisyan and Arus Voskanyan.
The 1980s were the theatre’s peak. It toured Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” to France, Lithuania, Portugal and Latvia, and it kept working after the 1988 earthquake. It also kept working through the 1990s, when the roof leaked and there was no heating. The theatre works with the Vanadzor branch of the Yerevan State Institute of Theatre and Cinematography, whose students often appear in its productions. Its repertoire covers classical, world, Armenian and contemporary drama.