History of the Shevchenko Theater

If you look closely at the pediment of the Taras Shevchenko Dnipro National Theater, you will notice two dates: 1838 and 1913. These are not random numbers, but the key to understanding the history of one of the most beautiful buildings in our city.

These numbers remind us that the building was built specifically as a theater for the English Club. 1838 is the year the club itself was founded as an organization, and 1913 is the year the theater building was completed according to the design of architects F. F. Bulatsyl and A. M. Petrovetsky.

These walls were created for dramatic art from the very beginning. At first, the English Club Theater gave performances here, but a new era in the history of the building was started by a professional team that moved here later. The Shevchenko Theater itself was born in 1918 in Kyiv as the first state theater of Ukraine, and the troupe moved to our city in 1927.

With the outbreak of World War II, the theater was evacuated to Aktobe (Kazakhstan). The repertoire then consisted mainly of Ukrainian classics. In addition to performances, the actors worked in the format of front-line brigades: they traveled to villages and cities with concerts, performed opera numbers, and donated funds to the defense fund.

A truly unique event occurred in May 1943, when the theater moved to Namangan (Uzbekistan). The people’s desire for art was so strong that the team was allowed to build a new theater. Already in the winter of 1943, the building was opened, where the facade proudly read: “Dnipropetrovsk Taras Shevchenko Theater”. In 1944, after the liberation of the Dnipro, the team returned to their native stage.

The building acquired its modern appearance after reconstruction in 1979. It was then that the facade was decorated with bas-reliefs depicting heroes of Shevchenko’s works, which finally secured the status of the building as one of the visual symbols of the city.

Exploring such details is a way to better understand your hometown and its character. Stay connected to the history of Dnipro with Soyuz Telecom.