Maly Theatre (, as opposed to the nearby Bolshoi) is a theatre in Moscow, Russia, principally associated with the production of plays. Established in 1806Londre, Margot p. 307 and operating on its present site on the Theatre Square since 1824, the theatre traces its history to the Moscow University drama company, established in 1756. In the 19th century, Maly was "universally recognized in Russia as the leading dramatic theatre of the century", and was the home stage for Mikhail Shchepkin and Maria Yermolova. 40 of Alexander Ostrovsky's 54 plays premiered at Maly,Hochmann v. 4, p. 65 (article credit: Laurence Senelick), provides a complete list of plays and premiere venues and dates and the theatre was known as The House of Ostrovsky.Londre, Margot p. 306 The Maly Theatre in Moscow and Alexandrinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg "to a great extent determined the development of Russian theatre during the 19th and 20th century".Leach, Borovsky p. 84

Maly Theatre positions itself as a traditional drama theatre that produces classical heritage plays. For example, the 2009–2010 season program of Maly included plays by Russian authors from Denis Fonvizin to Mikhail Bulgakov, and a single play by Molière. The second stage of Maly, located in Zamoskvorechye District, also performs plays by W. Somerset Maugham, Luigi Pirandello and Eugene Scribe. Maly had a long tradition of producing William Shakespeare but, as of 2026, performed only one Shakespearian play, The Merry Wives of Windsor on its second stage.

Maly Theatre employs a staff of over seven hundred, including over one hundred drama actors. It is the only drama theatre in Russia that has retained a symphony orchestra and a professional choir. The theatre also operates Shchepkin Theatre School, Moscow's oldest drama school, established in 1809 as the Imperial Theatre School.

History The exact year of Maly's establishment is debated. In the 19th and 20th century, it was agreed that it was established in 1824, the year when the theatre moved into its Theatre Square building. The centennial of Maly was celebrated in 1924, and the 175th anniversary in 1999. However, the official bicentennial was moved to 2006, based on the establishment of the Imperial Moscow Theatre in 1806. Some of the shows produced by the Imperial Moscow Theatre premiered as early as 1804, and its company continued the tradition of Michael Maddox's company, which was established in 1780. The theatre website dates back its history to the year 1756.

Predecessors

In 1756 empress Elisabeth of Russia decreed the establishment of a "Russian language theatre for comedies and tragedies".Bubnova 2006 The ukaz was largely targeting Saint Petersburg—then devoid of any public entertainment—and specifically instructed that actors be recruited from Fyodor Volkov's company, which had already relocated from Yaroslavl to the capital.According to Bubnova, Volkov's company moved to Saint Petersburg in 1752. When Volkov and his company moved to Saint Petersburg, playwright Alexander Sumarokov became the first theatre manager.

Also in 1756, Moscow University students formed the Free Theatre (, free as in liberty and independence). By 1757, the amateur company was recruiting professional female singers and teachers of singing. Rector Ivan Shuvalov planned to build the university's own theatre hall, but later made an agreement with Italian impresario Giovanni Battista Locatelli, who managed the Opera House at the Red Gates. Locatelli opera, established in the beginning of 1759, was suffering financially, and the impoverished impresario willfully shared his stage with Shuvalov's company. The first show, The New Arrival by Marc-Antoine Legrand, premiered at the Opera House on May 25, 1759. Plays by Molière, Kheraskov, Rousseau were a success with Moscow audiences, but the death of Elisabeth in 1762, the subsequent twelve-month official mourning, and Shuvalov's retirement killed the theatre, and the company dispersed.

Between 1763 and 1766, various Russians and foreigners attempted to set up a permanent theatre in Moscow and failed. In 1776, Catherine II of Russia awarded the theatre license to prince Pyotr Vasilyevich Ouroussoff. Urusov teamed with English impresario Michael Maddox and erected a large wooden theatre on Petrovka Street, west of Neglinnaya River (the site of present-day Bolshoi Theatre). This hall, named Petrovsky Theatre, burnt down in February 1780. Urusov stepped out of the business and Maddox became the sole venturer. In five months, Maddox built and outfitted a three-storey stone theatre on the same site; the premiere, Wanderers by A. O. Ablesimov, ran on December 30, 1780. Maddox assembled a small but professional company and left the choice of plays and style to the actors. In 1783, the theatre produced 30 new plays and held 70 performances. Moscow governor Vasily Dolgorukov became the most influential supporter of the new theatre, but could not improve its finances. By 1790, Maddox was bankrupt.Bubnova 2006: "in 1796 Maddox received a two-year extension of his license". Other sources provide different dates (1790, 1792). the theatre was nationalized de facto by the new governor, Alexander Prozorovsky. Petrovsky Theatre, managed by the Imperial Board of Theatres, operated until another fire destroyed it on October 22, 1805.

First decades In 1806, the government of Alexander I established the Imperial Moscow Theatre in place of the former Petrovsky. The new theatre consolidated actors from state and private companies into the unified state company, buying out serf actors from their private owners (among them Stepan Mochalov and his five-year-old son Pavel Mochalov). Alexander himself joined the trading, pressing reluctant slave owners to cut their prices.Serf actors were not emancipated: they became state serfs instead. They were properly emancipated until 1824, by governor Dmitry Golitsyn. The new company officially premiered April 11, 1808, at the Pashkov House with a double act of Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni and Poverty and Chivalry by August von Kotzebue. For the next two or three decades, foreign plays dominated the program. Kotzebue, particularly, was favored for his ability to "enchant" the audience.

Carlo Rossi designed the new building, built in wood on Arbat Square. The new Arbatsky Theatre opened April 10, 1808, with Bayan by Sergey Glinka. In 1812, when Napoleon's forces approached Moscow, governor Fyodor Rostopchin delayed evacuation of the company until the last moment: actors fled in disarray when Moscow was already ablaze. Some died on the road, some joined Saint Petersburg companies, and others returned to Moscow in 1813. Arbatsky Theatre had burned down, and the company performed in Apraksin House on Znamenka Street and, since 1818, in Pashkov House.

In 1820, the state began redevelopment of Theatre Square. Joseph Bove designed a grand opera theatre (the future Bolshoy) on the site of former Petrovsky with four identical buildings around it. One of these, the Vargin House, was built with a small theatre hall which the Imperial Theatre leased for its drama company. The owner of the buildings, caught in the politics of war minister Alexander Chernyshyov, soon went broke and ended up in jail.Vasily Vargin (1791–1859) was an important supplier of the Russian Army during the Napoleonic Wars (he had engaged in business since the age of 16). Chernyshyov, determined to eradicate corruption of his predecessor Alexander Tatischev, prosecuted Vargin for his alleged dealings with Tatischev and charged him with multi-million ruble fraud. In 1842, the state comptroller ruled that Vargin was not guilty, but he was not fully reinstated in his rights until 1858, and by 1830, the state had bought out the property.

January 5, 1823, Alexander I created a new Moscow Board of Theatres that reported to Moscow's governor, making Moscow theatre independent from the Saint Petersburg board. Governor Dmitry Golitsyn became an influential fundraiser for the theatre and arranged emancipation of serf actors. In the same year, future stars Mikhail Shchepkin and Pavel Mochalov joined the company, immediately receiving top billings. Later, in the 1830s, cast hiring was influenced by Shchepkin, who hired and mentored future stars Prov Sadovsky and Ivan Samarin.Leach, Borovsky pp. 121-122

The smaller stage in Vargin House (Maly) opened October 14, 1824 with Alexey Verstovsky's Lily of Narbonne. The larger Bolshoy opened on January 6, 1825. The name Maly (small) emerged in the same year, and referred specifically to the building and not the company. Bolshoy and Maly theatres were run as a single company (Imperial Moscow Theatre), sharing an orchestra, choir, ballet, and even props. Standard weekly programs for Maly in 1825 included three German, two French, and one "German or French" daily slots, with just one Friday night open to Russian plays.Senelick, pp. 326-327 Thursdays and Fridays at Bolshoy were reserved for "light comedy" or musical genres. Thus, popular drama was regularly performed at the Bolshoy stage, alone or bundled with opera and ballet. For example, the January 31, 1828 night at Bolshoy stage for the benefit of Mikhail Shchepkin featured The Robbers by Friedrich Schiller, a single-act French opera, and a "vaudeville ballet by Alexander Shakhovskoy in rhyme and free verse with machines, flooding of the entire theatre, diverse dancing and music compiled from folk songs". - see

In the second quarter of the century native Russian plays gradually increased their share. Maly performances included works by Vasily Zhukovsky, Alexander Griboyedov (Woe from Wit 1831 featuring both Shchepkin and Pavel Mochalov).In 1830, Maly performed censored scenes from Woe from Wit, and in 1831 was allowed a complete performance.Leach, Borovsky p. 109 Alexander Pushkin (Ruslan and Ludmila 1825, The Fountain of Bakhchisaray 1827, The Gypsies 1832) and lesser known, now forgotten authors. In three decades, from the 1820s to the 1840s, the theatre shed the over-dramatization of vaudeville and romanticism and replaced it with "something approaching a realistic style [that] we would recognize today."Leach, Borovsky p. 122 The former Vargin House was expanded to its present size by Konstantin Thon between 1838 and 1840. The new stage allowed use of elaborate box sets that became standard practice at Maly, while Bolshoy conservatively relied on primitive wing-and-border cloth sets.Senelick, p. 351

House of Ostrovsky

In 1849 former court clerk and university dropout Alexander Ostrovsky wrote It's a Family Affair, a play that was banned by state censorship.Hochmann v. 4 p. 53 Ostrovsky continued writing, and in 1853 Maly produced two of his plays: The Morning of a Young Man and Don't Sit in a Sledge You Don't Own. For the next thirty years, Maly produced one or two new plays by Ostrovsky each year.See timeline of performances in Hochmann v. 4 pp. 65–66 Ostrovsky's modern drama became a trademark for the theatre; previously known as House of Shchepkin, Maly became House of Ostrovsky.Banham, p. 986 Plays by Ostrovsky appeared difficult to old-school actors like Schepkin,Banham, p. 829 but helped in establishing a new generation of Maly actors. Prov Sadovsky, promoted by Shchepkin, became the "primary interpreter of Ostrovsky".Banham, p. 958 Ostrovsky lived in poverty due to hostility of the Imperial Theatre Board, and ironically, he was appointed director of Moscow Theatre Board shortly before his death, becoming the head of Maly.Hochmann v. 4 p. 54 Public activities by Ostrovsky contributed to the establishment of national playwright's union (1865) and abolition of state monopoly on theatre (1882). As a manager, Ostrovsky formed lasting relationships with the cast, campaigned for professional stage training, and even conducted statistical surveys of the audience.Leach, Borovsky p. 176 (article credit: Kate Sealey Rahman)