Azerbaijan State Academic National Drama Theatre
The national drama company, founded in 1873, playing in Azerbaijani on Fuzuli Square.
Azerbaijani professional theatre is dated to 10 March 1873, when pupils of the Baku realschule, encouraged by the teacher and publisher Hasan bey Zardabi, staged Mirza Fatali Akhundov's comedy The Vizier of the Khan of Lankaran. Scattered troupes were brought together under state control in 1919. The company carried several names through the Soviet decades, among them that of Dadash Bunyatzade and then of Meshadi Azizbekov, before taking its present title in 1991.
The theatre works in Azerbaijani and its repertoire sets national drama beside translated classics, with Shakespeare, Moliere and Tolstoy long in the programme. Recent seasons have included Ah, This Long Road of Love, The Dead, The Devil and..., Filumena Marturano and a play about the poet Khurshidbanu Natavan. The 154th season opened in September 2026 with a new production. The house stands on Fuzuli Square in central Baku, a short walk from Nizami Street, and also hosts guest companies and commemorative evenings.
Highlights
- Traces its origin to a student performance of Akhundov in 1873
- Plays in Azerbaijani on Fuzuli Square in central Baku
- Repertoire mixing national drama with Shakespeare and Moliere
- Opened its 154th season in September 2026
