Description of the attraction
In 1904, the building of the Eliseev Brothers Trading House was built on Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg, which became the famous Eliseevsky store, located on the first floor. And on the second floor there was a theater hall, which, upon completion of construction, was leased to city theater groups: the Modern Theater, Nevsky Farce, and an entreprise under the direction of V. Lin.
In 1929, already in the new country, the building was given to the State Theater of Satire under the direction of D. Gutman, created four years earlier. In October 1929, the first theatrical season was opened with the play "Sharpshooter". Two years later, the Satire Theater was merged with the Comedy Theater, also created in 1925 on the basis of the former Passage Theater, and given a new name - Leningrad Theater of Satire and Comedy. Actually, the actress E. Granovskaya was in charge of the Comedy Theater at that time, and she also headed the new united theater. Almost the entire repertoire was based on her, and it was Granovskaya who remained the prima of vaudeville, comedies, variety reviews, although there were promising young actors in the troupe: B. Babochkin, N. Cherkasov, N. Smirnov-Sokolsky, L. Utyosov.
Unfortunately, over the next six years, the theater lost its popularity, stopped attracting viewers, the best actors began to leave, and in 1935 it was under threat of closure. The Department of Culture decided to transfer the leadership of the "worst theater in Leningrad" to N. Akimov, a well-known theater artist at that time, but only a novice director. He had only one directing work to his credit - a play staged at the Vakhtangov Theater "Hamlet" based on William Shakespeare. Akimov was given a certain period of time to restore the theater, namely a year. Otherwise, the theater should have been closed.
Akimov, known for his penchant for experimentation, began with dramatic changes: first of all, he parted with Granovskaya and Utyosov, and then invited young actors from the theatrical studio "Experiment", which he directed until its closure in 1934. Thus, the face of the Theater of Satire and L. Sukharevskaya, A. Beniaminov, S. Filippov, I. Zarubina, E. Junger, B. Tenin and T. Chokoy became comedies, and then the entire theatrical Leningrad.
At the same time, N. Akimov's magnificent creative alliance with the playwright E. Schwartz was taking shape. Especially for the theater of Satire, Schwartz wrote two, which later entered the treasury of world drama, and screened plays: "Shadow" and "Dragon". Akimov also collaborates with the poet and translator M. Lozinsky, thanks to whom the works of such foreign classics become available for staging: Lope de Vega, Shakespeare, Priestley and Sheridan. Akimov himself, being an artist, makes scenery, costumes, and make-up. And the actors are allowed to finalize the image of the characters on their own. Akimov made the theater so popular that in a short time it was recognized as one of the best theaters in the country.
During the war, the theater remains open. The whole troupe plays and lives with their families in the building of the Bolshoi Drama Theater, tk. he is the only one with a bomb shelter. In 1941 the theater was evacuated to Ashgabat and staged 16 premieres during the war years.
For "Westernism" and "formalism in art" Akimov was removed from office in 1949, which inevitably negatively affected the theater: attendance dropped to zero. Until 1956, the theater was left without a director and was on the verge of another closure. But in 1956 Akimov returned, which again raised the popularity of the theater to its former height.
After Akimov's death on tour in Moscow in 1968, several leaders changed, until Vadim Golikov was appointed in 1970. In the same year, the theater was awarded the title of academic.
From 1977 to 1981 the artistic director of the theater was P. Fomenko, and then, in 1991-1995 - D. Astrakhan. Since 1989 the theater has been named after N. P. Akimova.
In 2008, the St. Petersburg Academic Comedy Theater. N. P. Akimov was overhauled for the first time in 60 years. Its opening after renovation was marked by the famous performance based on the play by Schwartz "Shadow".
Currently, the theater is headed by T. Kazakova.
