Yakub Kolas National Academic Drama Theatre
Belarusian-language drama company playing in a colonnaded 1958 house on Millennium Square.
The company opened on 21 November 1926 as the Second Belarusian State Theatre, formed largely from graduates of the Belarusian drama studio in Moscow. It took the name of the poet Yakub Kolas in 1944, gained academic status in 1977 and became a national theatre in 2001. Performances are given chiefly in Belarusian, which makes it one of the main platforms for the language on stage. The repertoire ranges from classical drama and comedy to modern parable and grotesque.
The present building on Millennium Square, near the Dvina, was completed in 1958 to designs by the architects A. Maksimov and I. Ryskina. Its main front is an eight-column Doric portico under a pedimented gable, with pilasters, rustication and moulded panels along the flanks. Inside, the auditorium has stalls and two balconies. The theatre works on three stages of different sizes, among them a chamber experimental space, and it also hosts visiting companies.
Highlights
- Eight-column Doric portico facing Millennium Square
- One of the leading Belarusian-language drama companies
- Three stages, including a chamber experimental space
- Backstage tours of the building on selected evenings
