Aktobe Regional Drama Theatre named after Takhaui Akhtanov
Western Kazakhstan's main drama house, playing to Kazakh and Russian troupes under one roof.
Theatre in Aktobe dates from 1935, when a Kazakh musical drama company was formed out of a railway workers' drama circle at the suggestion of the education commissar Temirbek Zhurgenov. The company closed during the Second World War and a Russian troupe evacuated from Dnipropetrovsk worked in the city from 1943 to 1948. A Kazakh company was re-established in 1992, opening on 18 July that year with Takhaui Akhtanov's play Kusik Kuyeu. The theatre took Akhtanov's name in 1997.
In 1998 the Kazakh and Russian companies were brought together as a single regional theatre, and in 2013 the variety miniature troupe Eki Ezu was merged into it as well. Two full companies therefore share the building, playing in Kazakh and in Russian. The house was rebuilt between 2009 and 2010 and refurbished again in 2020, when the facade, stage machinery and technical equipment were renewed. Repertoire ranges from Kazakh drama and world classics to comedy and children's productions, and the theatre tours and takes part in festivals.
Highlights
- Kazakh and Russian acting companies working in the same house
- Named after the writer and playwright Takhaui Akhtanov
- Stage and facade renewed in the 2020 refurbishment
- Repertoire spans Kazakh drama, world classics and family shows
