Theater for children and youth

Theater for children and youth

Around 1907, a majestic building made of a new material at that time, reinforced concrete, began to be erected here on the site of a summer riot.

The theater was built according to the project of the famous Kharkiv architect Ginzburg at the expense of local authorities and some savings of an ardent supporter of theatrical art, local entrepreneur Dmitry Mitrofanovich Korepanov, who, so to speak, "intercepted" a project intended for the Yalta Theater.

Construction, which was halted several times due to lack of funds, lasted a long seven years. And, approximately, in 1909 – 1912 Sumy Theater, which began to bear the double name "Tivoli" and "Korepanov Theater", hospitably welcomed the first spectators.

At that time, the theater was unique in many ways: reinforced concrete walls, excellent acoustics, an auditorium that accommodated more than 800 people, a revolving stage, and especially the floor, which, with the help of original mechanisms made in local factories, changed the bow. By the way, the analogue of the building is only in Nice (France).

Near the theater building was a luxurious summer garden, where during the intermission lushly dressed ladies with their gentlemen walked.

After the construction of the new theater, Sumy residents had an extraordinary opportunity to choose from a variety of spectacles. Experienced entrepreneur Korepanov invited many theater troupes and foreign celebrities. Artists of the Milan Opera, famous pop singers Plevytska and Vyaltseva visited the stage of the Sumy Theater.

After the final approval of the Soviet government, this theater was renamed the Music and Drama Theater named after the IP International, and the literary and drama studio at that time was headed by the famous writer, teacher and theater critic Yakov Mamontov.

In 1939, the theater housed the troupe of the Sumy Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater, which emerged on the basis of the Kharkiv Workers' and Collective Farm Mobile Theater.

Later, the theater was named after the great Russian actor MS Shchepkin…

The fate of the Sumy Theater building is quite difficult. On its way, the theater has undergone many reconstructions and restorations.

For example, in 1928, a fire destroyed the entire roof and interior of the theater. The house was abandoned for several years and was not restored until 1939.

During World War II in 1943, the theater was again destroyed by Nazi invaders, who retreated and set fire to the building.

And again, many reconstructions, many restorations від.

But after each shock of fate, the theater came to life and comes to life, giving the joy of meeting the Sumy audience with favorite actors….

In 1981, with the receipt of a new theater, the troupe of the Sumy Drama and Musical Comedy Theater. MS Shchepkina left this old house and since then the building houses the Sumy Regional Theater for Children and Youth.

Created on December 29, 1975, originally as a puppet theater, the theater gradually gained more and more fans. And with the receipt of a stationary room, the possibilities of serving spectators of different ages have expanded. It was on this basis that the idea arose to create a theater complex: the Theater for Young Spectators (YUG) and the Puppet Theater.

Thus, on April 21, 1981, by order of the Ministry of Culture, the Sumy Puppet Theater was reorganized into a regional theater for children and youth. Today, this theater is the only one of its kind among the theaters of Ukraine and the CIS, which is a theatrical organism that combines in its performances two types of theatrical art: dramatic and subject, masks, puppets.