Which was one of the first founded after the October Revolution. In different years, famous directors and actors served and serve there. The BDT is considered one of the most beautiful theaters in the world.

The history of the birth of the theater

Bolshoy Drama Theatre. Tovstonogov was opened on February 15, 1919. Due to the lack of their own building, the troupe gave performances at the Conservatory. The room was not heated, it was very cold, but every evening the halls were full.

The idea to organize a theater belongs to M. Gorky. He was supported by the commissioner of theaters and spectacles. The artist A. Benois also belongs to the founders.

The Artistic Council, which was headed by M. Gorky, decided to invite A. Lavrentiev and N. Arbatov to the positions of directors. Actor N. Monakhov was appointed as a troupe and was engaged in the selection of artists. A. Gauk and Y. Shaporin became the musical directors of the theater. The troupe was assembled from outstanding artists who were leading actors of other theaters, and among them was Yury Yuryev, a movie star.

The BDT received its own building in 1920 and to this day does not change its location.

To Tovstonogov

Since the spring of 1919, A. Blok was the chairman of the theater's artistic council. Bolshoy Drama Theatre. Tovstonogov in the first years of its existence showed performances that corresponded to the plan of its creators, who wanted to see a revolutionary program in it - the repertoire was of a heroic and social nature. Performances based on the works of F. Schiller, V. Hugo, W. Shakespeare were staged, since Soviet dramaturgy had not yet received its development. In many ways, the face of the theater was determined by its artists. The famous actress N. Lejeune, who played in the theater at that time, claimed that props were not used on the stage, things were real: the furniture was borrowed from wealthy houses. Even the costumes were authentic. In 1925, the play "The Conspiracy of the Empress" was staged. The role of Vyrubova was played by N. Lejeune, and in the performance she wore a dress that really belonged to her heroine, who existed in reality. Great importance was attached to music, B. Asafiev, Yu. Shaporin, I. Vyshnegradsky collaborated with the theater.

From 1921 to 1923, great changes took place in the theater. Those who stood at its origins: M. Gorky and M. Andreeva - left Russia. A. Blok died. Some actors returned to the theaters where they served before being invited to the BDT. The chief director A. Lavrentiev left the post in 1921, but returned two years later and held this position until 1929. The artist A. Benois left the theater. In their place came other people who brought something new, expanded the repertoire with plays by domestic and foreign playwrights of that era.

From 1929 to 1935, K. Tverskoy, a student of V. Meyerhold, was the main director. Since then, the number of new productions based on the classics has declined. And for the entire period of leadership of K. Tversky, two new classical plays were staged. Preference was given to the works of contemporary authors: Yu. Olesha, N. Pogodin, A. Faiko, L. Slavin.

In 1932, the theater was named after one of its founders, it became known as "the name of Gorky". Then the repertoire included some of the writer's works.

Theater in 1935-1955

There was a time when the Bolshoi Drama Theater. Tovstonogov experienced a creative crisis. This period lasted 20 years - from 1935 to 1955. This time can be called a crisis of directing, as talented directors appeared and announced themselves with interesting productions, but did not stay long and left the theater (not always of their own free will). K. Tverskoy was expelled from the city in 1935, and was soon shot. A. Dikiy served in the theater for only a year, then he was arrested. All the directors who came after him stayed on average for 1-2 years. Due to the frequent change of leaders, the atmosphere in the team deteriorated, the quality of the productions decreased, the BDT lost popularity, there were sometimes fewer spectators than the actors on stage, the financial situation worsened, and there was a threat of closure.

In the era of Tovstonogov

In 1956, G. Tovstonogov was invited to the post of chief director of the BDT, who was given great powers. He began his service in the position by firing many actors. The new leader tried to attract the audience, for this reason comedies appeared in the repertoire. Already at the beginning of 1957, the Bolshoi Drama Theater. Tovstonogov returned to its former popularity, and performances began to take place with full houses. After 6 years of work, G. Tovstonogov won the fame of a talented and successful director. The theater went on tour in many countries of the world and gained popularity abroad. Georgy Alexandrovich served as the chief director of the BDT for three decades.

Late 20th - early 21st century

After G. Tovstonogov died, he was replaced by K. Lavrov, who was not a director, and therefore the theater was in constant search for directors. Lavrov gathered a staff that worked on a permanent basis. However, he often invited directors from other theaters to cooperate. In 1992, the BDT received its modern name. In 2004, he found the chief director, T. Chkheidze, who held this position until 2013.

Theater today

In March 2013, A. Moguchy became the artistic director of the BDT. From 2011 to 2014, the Fontanka Theater building was closed for restoration. On September 26, the renovated Bolshoi Drama Theater named after A.I. Tovstonogov. The photo below is an image of the BDT auditorium.

The theater has three venues: there are two halls in the building on the Fontanka Embankment, and one in the Kamennoostrovsky Theatre.

Famous actors of the theater and its repertoire

Over the years, such actors as T. Doronina, P. Luspekaev, O. Basilashvili, I. Smoktunovsky, A. Freindlikh, N. Usatova and others, glorified and continue to glorify the Bolshoi Drama Theater. Tovstonogov.

His repertoire is very wide and includes classical and contemporary plays.

How to get there

In the very center of the city, on the Fontanka Embankment, in house number 65, there is the Bolshoi Drama Theater. Tovstonogov. The address of its second stage is the Krestovsky Ostrov metro station, Old Theater Square, building 13.

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The “About the Theater” section on the BDT website is currently being updated and supplemented.

History of the Bolshoi Drama Theater

The Bolshoi Drama Theater opened on February 15, 1919 with the tragedy Don Carlos by F. Schiller, starting its performances at the Opera Studio of the Conservatory.

In 1964 he was awarded the title of Academic, in 1970 the Small Stage was opened, since 1992 it has been named after G.A. Tovstonogov.

In the autumn of 1918, the theater commissioner M.F. Andreeva signed a decree on the creation of a Special Drama Troupe in Petrograd - that was the original name of the theater, now famous all over the world under the abbreviation BDT. Its formation was entrusted to the famous actor N.F. Monakhov, and two theatrical groups became the origins: the Tragedy Theater organized in 1918 under the direction of

Yu.M. Yuryev and the Theater of Artistic Drama, which was headed by A.N. Lavrentiev.

A.A. Blok, who essentially became the first artistic director of the BDT. The main ideological inspirer of the new theater was M. Gorky. He wrote at the time: "The audience needs to show the man he himself - and all of us - have long dreamed of, a man-hero, chivalrously selfless, passionately in love with his idea ... a man of honest deed, a great feat ..." Put forward Maxim Gorky the slogan "Heroic people - heroic theater!" was embodied in the BDT repertoire.

The heroes of W. Shakespeare, F. Schiller, V. Hugo appeared on the stage of the BDT. They asserted the ideas of nobility, opposing honor and dignity to the chaos and cruelty of the surrounding world. In the early years of the life of the BDT, artists played a significant role in determining its artistic appearance. Each of them: A.N. Benois and M.V. Dobuzhinsky, and monumental architect V.A. Shuko did it in their own way. But it was they who formed the solemn, truly magnificent style of the early BDT.

The advent of a new era coincided with difficult and sometimes tragic changes within the theater itself. In 1921 M.F. left Russia for several years. Andreev and M. Gorky, in the same year A.A. Blok, returned to the Yu.M. Yuryev, A.N. Benois, left the BDT and became the chief director A.N. Lavrentiev. New directors came to the theater: N.V. Petrov, K.P. Khokhlov, P.K. Weisbrem, K.K. Tverskaya; they brought new artists with them - Yu.P. Annenkova, M.Z. Levina, N.P. Akimova, V.M. Khodasevich, V.V. Dmitriev. Having accepted from A.A. Blok, a symbolic relay race, in 1923 the literary part was headed by A.I. Piotrovsky.

In the new search for the theater, the directing activity of V.E. Meyerhold K.K. Tverskoy (1929-1934). In the mid-twenties, the repertoire of the BDT was determined primarily by the plays of contemporary playwrights such as B.A. Lavrenev, A. Faiko, Yu.K. Olesha, N.N. Nikitin, N.A. Zarkhi, V.M. Kirshon, N.F. Pogodin. The troupe is also updated,

A.I. come to the BDT Larikov, V.P. Politseymako, N.P. Korn, L.A. Krovitsky; EAT. Granovskaya, O.G. Casico, V.T. Kibardina, E.V. Alexandrovskaya, A.B. Nikritina.

From the day the theater was founded, directors worked in the BDT: 1919-1921 and 1923-1929 - A.N. Lavrentiev; 1921-1922 - N.V. Petrov; 1929-1934 - K.K. Tverskaya; 1934-1936 - V.F. Fedorov; 1936-1937 - A.D. Wild; 1938-1940 - B.A. Babochkin; 1940-1946 -
L.S. Mine; 1946-1949 - N.S. Rashevskaya; 1950-1952 - I.S. Efremov; 1922-1923 and 1954-1955 - K.L. Khokhlov.

Thirty paces long. Twenty deep. Up - to the height of the curtain. The stage space is not that big. This space could accommodate a modern apartment - it will turn out not so unnaturally spacious. Here you can place a garden. Perhaps a corner of the garden, no more. Here you can create peace. The world of high human passions opposing baseness, the world of deeds and the world of doubts, the world of discoveries and a high system of feelings leading the auditorium.

From the book "Mirror of the Stage"

At the beginning of 1956, the Bolshoi Drama Theater was preparing to celebrate its thirty-seventh birthday.

On the very eve of the holiday, the troupe was presented with a new, eleventh in a row, chief director.

Thus, an era began in the BDT, whose name is Georgy Aleksandrovich Tovstonogov.

G.A. Tovstonogov created the theater, which for decades has always been the leader of the domestic theatrical process. The performances created by him: “The Fox and the Grapes” by G. Figueiredo, “The Idiot” by F.M. Dostoevsky, Five Evenings by A. Volodin, Barbarians by M. Gorky, Woe from Wit by A.S. Griboyedov, “Petty bourgeois” by M. Gorky, “Inspector General” by N.V. Gogol, "Three Sisters" by A.P. Chekhov, “Last Summer in Chulimsk” by A. Vampilov, “Energetic People” by V. Shukshin, “Three Bags of Weed Wheat” by V. Tendryakov, “History of a Horse” by L.N. Tolstoy, “There is Enough Simplicity in Every Wise Man” by A. Ostrovsky, “At the Bottom” by M. Gorky ... became events

in the theatrical life not only of Leningrad, but of the whole country, striking with the novelty of interpretation, the originality of the director's view.

Bit by bit, personality to personality, G.A. Tovstonogov assembled an ensemble of unique acting individuals who made up the country's best drama troupe. The roles played on the BDT stage brought fame to I.M. Smoktunovsky, O.I. Borisov, revealed the bright talents of T.V. Doronina, E.A. Lebedeva, S.Yu. Yursky, E.Z. Kopelyan, P.B. Luspekaeva, P.P. Pankova, E.A. Popova,

IN AND. Strzhelchik, V.P. Kovel, V.A. Medvedev, M.V. Danilova, Yu.A. Demich, I.Z. Zabludovsky, N.N. Trofimov, K.Yu. Lavrov,

A.Yu. Tolubeeva, L.I. Malevannaya. A.B. is still playing in the BDT. Freindlikh, O.V. Basilashvili, Z.M. Sharko, V.M. Ivchenko, N.N. Usatova, E.K. Popova, L.V. Nevedomsky, G.P. Bogachev, G.A. Calm.

On May 23, 1989, returning from the theater, Georgy Aleksandrovich Tovstonogov died suddenly at the wheel of his car.

In the days when the theater had not yet recovered from the shock, the People's Artist of the USSR, laureate of State Prizes K.Yu. Lavrov.

April 27, 2007 the theater said goodbye to K.Yu. Lavrov. In June, by unanimous decision of the troupe, the artistic director of the Bolshoi Drama Theater named after G.A. Tovstonogov, People's Artist of Russia and Georgia T.N. Chkheidze, who served in this post until March 2013.

In the fall of 1918, the Bolshoi Drama Theater was founded in Petrograd on the initiative of the writer Maxim Gorky, the poet Alexander Blok and the Moscow Art Theater actress Maria Andreeva. The theater's repertoire policy was determined by its first artistic director, Alexander Blok:"The Bolshoi Drama Theater is, by design, a theater of high drama: high tragedy and high comedy."The special aesthetics and style of the BDT were formed under the influence of the architect Vladimir Shchuko and artists from the association "World of Art": Alexander Benois, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, Boris Kustodiev - the first set designers of the theater.

On February 15, 1919, the premiere took place: the tragedy of F. Schiller "Don Carlos" was directed by Andrei Lavrentiev. Among the directors of the BDT of the following years: Meyerhold's student Konstantin Tverskoy, Nemirovich-Danchenko's student Nikolai Petrov, world art artist Alexander Benois, the famous Chapaev from the film of the same name - actor Boris Babochkin. From 1932 to 1992, the BDT bore the name of its founder, Maxim Gorky.

In 1956, Georgy Tovstonogov was appointed chief director and artistic director of the theatre. Under him, the BDT became the author's director's theater, known throughout the world, the best drama stage in the USSR. Tatyana Doronina and Sergei Yursky, Innokenty Smoktunovsky and Zinaida Sharko, Evgeny Lebedev and Valentina Kovel, Oleg Basilashvili and Svetlana Kryuchkova, Vladislav Strzhelchik, Pavel Luspekaev, Oleg Borisov, Nikolai Trofimov, Efim Kopelyan, Kirill Lavrov and many other wonderful actors played in the performances of Tovstonogov . In those years, the theater toured a lot. In a situation of confrontation between two political systems, the Iron Curtain regime, the BDT was a cultural link between East and West. After the death of Tovstonogov in 1989, the People's Artist of the USSR Kirill Lavrov took over the artistic direction, after him - the director Temur Chkheidze. Since 1992, the theater began to bear the name of Georgy Aleksandrovich Tovstonogov.

In 2013, director Andrey Moguchiy, one of the leaders of the theatrical avant-garde, became the artistic director of the BDT. Under the leadership of the Mighty, BDT regained recognition from the public and critics, and became one of the main theatrical newsmakers in the country. In December 2015, the theater was awarded by the experts of the Russian Association of Theater Critics "For building a new artistic strategy for the Bolshoi Drama Theatre".

The creative credo of BDT is an open dialogue on topics relevant to modern society. Each performance, each project of the new BDT addresses the problems of a person of his time.

The productions of the Bolshoi Drama Theater involve artists of all generations of the troupe - from very young actors of the trainee group to leading stage masters, such as People's Artist of the USSR Alisa Freindlikh, People's Artist of Russia and Ukraine Valery Ivchenko, People's Artists of Russia Svetlana Kryuchkova, Irutė Vengalite, Marina Ignatova, Elena Popova, People's Artists of Russia Gennady Bogachev, Valery Degtyar, Honored Artists of Russia Anatoly Petrov, Vasily Reutov, Andrey Sharkov, Honored Artist of Russia Maria Lavrova and others.Every season, BDT performances become laureates of the main theatrical awards of the country, including the national theater award "Golden Mask".

Since 2013, there has been a large-scale educational program "The Age of Enlightenment" at the Tovstonogov Bolshoi Theater. These are lectures, concerts, exhibitions, round tables devoted to topical creative issues, meetings with people who create modern theater, as well as excursions around the museum and backstage of the theater, author's programs dedicated to the history of the BDT. An important direction of the "Era of Enlightenment" is the "BDT Pedagogical Laboratory" - directors, actors, theater critics and teachers teach teachers of secondary schools and kindergartens in St. Petersburg to introduce modern theatrical language and stage techniques into the school educational program. In 2015, the Bolshoi Theater became the first Russian repertoire drama theater to permanently include the inclusive performance The Language of Birds, created jointly with the Center for Creativity, Education and Social Habilitation for Adults with Autism Anton Is Right Here. Along with professional actors, this performance is played by people with autism spectrum disorder.

The Bolshoi Drama Theater named after G. A. Tovstonogov has three stages. The main stage (750 seats) and the Small Stage (120 seats) are located in a historic building at 65, Fontanka Embankment, built in 1878 by architect Ludwig Fontana, commissioned by Count Anton Apraksin. The second stage of the BDT (300 seats) is located on the square of the Old Theater, 13, in the building of the Kamennoostrovsky Theater, the oldest surviving wooden theater in Russia, built by the architect Smaragd Shustov by order of Emperor Nicholas I in 1827. Each season, at least five premieres and more than 350 performances take place at these three venues.

The Russian State Academic Bolshoi Drama Theater (BDT) is one of the first Soviet theaters. The prefix “named after G.A. Tovstonogov" he received in honor of his leader - the famous director Georgy Tovstonogov.

Theater of Big Names

Prior to that, the theater was named after M. Gorky and was called the Leningrad Academic Bolshoi Drama Theater. Actually, thanks to Maxim Gorky, the theater was organized in 1919; the basis of his troupe was the artists of the Theater of Artistic Drama, created the year before. In 1920, the theater received a building on the Fontanka, and remains there to this day. An interesting fact: the first performance of the theater - "Don Carlos" based on the play by Schiller - went on for five whole hours; the premiere took place in winter, in mid-February, in frost, and the building was not heated - but the audience willingly spent the whole evening in the hall. What was happening on stage was so exciting! And this is not surprising. After all, all the time of its existence, the charisma of the Bolshoi Drama Theater was based on the bright energy of outstanding figures of Russian culture. Many big names are associated with this theatre. In 1919, the poet Alexander Blok was appointed chairman of the artistic council. Maxim Gorky continued to take the most ardent part in the fate of the theater. This cultural platform was intended to become a source of heroic pathos, revolutionary ideology, majestic passions, not limited to the fate of one person, but captivating the fate of many. In those years, the repertoire of the Bolshoi Drama Theater was based on a revolutionary program. It was made up of works of world drama that correspond to heroic moods: Shakespeare's tragedies, Hugo's dramas, plays by Merezhkovsky and Bryusov. But the fate of the theater turned out to be changeable. For various reasons - political or personal - talented directors did not stay in it for a long time, the team remained without a leader for a long time, without a strong hand the theater gradually lost popularity ... And only in 1956 a new era began: an outstanding and successful director Georgy joined the team Tovstonogov, who is very demanding on the quality of acting, setting the highest standard in his work. For more than 30 years, the fate of the theater was decided: the popularity and love of the audience returned to it.

According to the strictest stage quality criteria

The most important criterion for the skill of an actor in the theater is the intellectual level and the ability to improvise. This is what has made the Bolshoi Drama Company one of the strongest theater groups in the world for decades. “Well-trained” by the strict director Tovstonogov, the actors passed on to new generations the traditions of exactingness to themselves and impeccable smart acting. In the 1990s, after the death of the chief director, the theater was again "in search", it was temporarily headed by Kirill Lavrov, then handing over the leadership to the director Temur Chkheidze. Changes affected the Bolshoi Drama Theater in 2011-2014: like in many other theaters at that time, it underwent technical restoration. Critics, and many viewers, feared that after the reconstruction the theater would no longer be the same - its ideology and philosophy would also change ... But the very first performance - "Alice" based on the works of L. Carroll with Alisa Freindlich in the title role - became the owner of the highest theatrical St. Petersburg awards "Golden Soffit" in the nominations "Best Performance" and "Best Actress". It is impossible to buy tickets to the Bolshoi Drama Theater on the day of the performance - after all, this is one of the most popular stage venues, a historical and cultural center, for a visit to which they prepare in advance ...

To a modern Petersburger, the BDT seems to be an integral part of the city, a building of the same age as the Alexandrinsky Theatre. However, the building is a little over a hundred years old, and the history of the Bolshoi Drama Theater does not even span a century: the centenary will be celebrated in 2019. It is Georgy Tovstonogov who is credited with integrating the BDT into the system of cultural values ​​of the city along with the Hermitage. We will conduct a brief educational program on the history of the theater - from the beginning to the era of the Master.

Suvorin Theater

In 1862, the chaotic self-made Apraksin market, combined from Shchukin and Apraksin yards, burned down. The fire destroyed all the temporary and part of the permanent buildings. Count Anton Apraksin, whose losses amounted to millions of rubles, took up the habitation of his territories anew. Anton Stepanovich was a man of many talents and interests: he flew in balloons, played music and suppressed uprisings, did not boast of wealth, did not spare money for charity and art. By his order, the architect Ludwig Frantsevich Fontona redesigned not only the buildings of Apraksin Dvor, but also the building of the theater known to us.

The Apraksin Theater was technically considered one of the best private stages in St. Petersburg, but did not have its own troupe for a long time: Count Apraksin rented the premises to the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters, and they used the building as a small stage for the Alexandrinsky Theater.

In 1895, the permanent tenant changed and the Apraksin Theater became the theater of the Literary and Art Society or, as they also called themselves, the literary and artistic circle, where the main co-founders were Alexei Suvorin, Pyotr Gnedich and Prince Pavel Obolensky.

Suvorin was a journalist, writer and theater critic, born in Voronezh, and came to the capital in 1863, where, already in the status of a promising writer, he got a job at St. Petersburg Vedomosti. There he worked as a caustic feuilletonist under the pseudonym "The Stranger". When in 1874 the entire editorial staff was fired at once, there were rumors that the Stranger was the main reason for this. By that time, Suvorin already had a new hobby - publishing, both book and newspaper: the first "Yellow Pages" of the city - the address directory "All Petersburg" - was published by him. It is believed that Suvorin contributed to Chekhov's success by publishing the great playwright on the pages of his publication Novoye Vremya.

Pyotr Gnedich, despite his active literary and journalistic activity before the Suvorin Theater, received recognition later, becoming the manager of the Alexandrinsky Theater troupe in 1900. As for Pavel Obolensky, the prince did not aspire to be a playwright - he was attracted by the stage. One Aleksandrinka, where he played since 1890, was obviously not enough for him.

The theater on the Fontanka, 65 was colloquially called Suvorinsky, after the death of Suvorin himself, this name became official, as well as Maly - in relation to Alexandrinka. In the Maly-Bolshoi Theater of that time, fresh plays were successfully staged, delighting the aristocratic audience. In general, the Suvorinsky Theater was a fashionable and visited institution. At the turn of the century, Suvorin became the sole head of the Maly Theater. After the death of the journalist in 1912, his son supported the theater of the literary and artistic society for several more years, and in 1917 the revolutionaries took the theater from the Suvorin family. At first - just not to be. Three years later, the homeless troupe of the Bolshoi Drama Theater was relocated to the Fontanka.

Gorky Theater

Strictly speaking, St. Petersburg will have to celebrate the centenary of the Bolshoi Theater in the middle of the World Cup in Russia - in August 2018: it was in August 1918 that the actress of the Moscow Art Theater and Commissioner of Theaters and Spectacles of the Union of Communes of the Northern Region Maria Fedorovna Andreeva signed a decree on the creation in Petrograd of a "theatre of tragedy, romantic drama and high comedy. Andreeva's position and the wording of the decree sound rather amusing in our time, but the Bolsheviks took the matter seriously.

The theater was created on the initiative and under the strict control of Maxim Gorky. The design of the performances was taken up by the artist Alexander Benois, however, he worked part-time, combining work on scenery and costumes with the management of the Hermitage art gallery. In 1926, Benois completely left Russia on a business trip, from which he reasonably decided not to return. The troupe was assembled by the famous operetta artist Nikolai Monakhov - until his death in 1936, he was a member of it and went on stage. Together with him, the Alexandrinsky actor Yury Yuryev and Vladimir Maksimov, who, by the way, had previously served at the Maly Theater, were appointed to the honorary first roles. Yuryev also brought the team of his Theater of Tragedy to the BDT.

We also decided on the main director: Andrey Lavrentiev, a student of Nemirovich-Danchenko, became him. It was his play "Don Carlos" based on the play by Schiller on February 15, 1919 that became the first appearance of the BDT troupe on the stage - though not on their own, but in the premises of the Great Hall of the Conservatory. In April of the same year, Alexander Blok became the chairman of the artistic council of the BDT. The next year, the Bolshoi Theater had already settled on the site of the Maly - where it is to this day. In contrast to the Suvorin Theater - refined, aristocratic and avant-garde, the Bolshoi Drama Theater strove for the pathos of the revolution and heroic plots, which, however, were not found in the absence of Soviet playwrights. Therefore, the first years in the BDT with heroic anguish staged "Macbeth" and "The Servant of Two Masters."

Theater of many

Two seasons in the theater went off with a bang, and then it was time to let off steam: Gorky and Andreeva left the USSR, Blok left this world, Lavrentiev went on a sabbatical for two years. During this time, first Nikolai Petrov tried himself in the role of artistic director, and then Konstantin Khokhlov, who still had to return to the BDT many years later, in order to, after working for a year, give way to Georgy Tovtonogov. But these were already times of crisis, and in the twenties the BDT was well known and on horseback: Lavrentiev, who returned, brought stability, at the same time, Adrian Piotrovsky, a philologist and translator of ancient authors, began to manage the literary part of the theater. It was thanks to the latter that the BDT began to stage plays by young Soviet (and not only) playwrights. In 1928, Piotrovsky left the theater for the post of artistic director of the Sovkino factory - the current Lenfilm.

A year later, Lavrentiev gave way to the chief director of Meyerhold's student Konstantin Tverskoy, while remaining in the theater as an actor. Tverskoy took up modern drama with pleasure, the basis of which was prepared by Piotrovsky. The next six years in the BDT, if they staged the classics, they did it, striving for an original reading. Side by side with Tversky, another student of Meyerhold, Vladimir Lutse, worked. In the Apraksin Theater, young voices spoke again, style and taste appeared: Lutse and Tverskoy built a modern theater on the cooling ashes of the revolution. But in 1935, Konstantin Tversky was evicted from St. Petersburg in connection with the murder of Kirov, and two years later he was shot in Saratov.

Aleksei Dikiy could have been a bright chief director, but he worked at the BDT for only a season (1936-1937), after which he was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison for counter-revolutionary activities. After his release, Dikiy did not return to Leningrad. Following him, the main directors were Boris Babochkin, Lev Rudnik, Natalya Rashevskaya, Ivan Efremov and, finally, Konstantin Khokhlov. The theater was dying in its own internal squabbles, was indebted to everyone and everything, and the audience completely bypassed the Big Party. BDT needed not a director, but a leader.

In 1956, the delegates of the XX Congress of the CPSU were presented with the performance "Optimistic Tragedy" of the Leningrad Pushkin Theater. A few months later, the director of the production, an elderly man, the chief director of the Lenin Komsomol Theater, the son of an enemy of the people, Tovstonogov, was asked to literally "save the first proletarian theater" by any means. February 13, 1956 took office. And after some time, the BDT became what we know it to be. At least as known until 2013.