Who would have thought, but on the territory of Ukraine there are 105 full-fledged theaters, not counting those miniature creative associations that appeared in universities, on the basis of former Palaces of Pioneers or in the youth sections of a number of Protestant religious communities. In Sevastopol alone there are five institutions that are under the direct patronage of the Muses of Thalia and Melpomene. The best of them is recognized as Sevastopol Lunacharsky Academic Russian Drama Theater.
The theater itself, as a creative unit, appeared much earlier than the building, which today is associated with his name. By the way, it is named in honor of Lunacharsky, the most famous revolutionary, ambassador to Spain, editor of the Literary Encyclopedia and the first Commissar of Education of the newly formed USSR.
The backbone of the collective appeared in 1910. On the present-day Nakhimov Avenue there used to be a covered area for roller skating. It was round in shape. It was used for skating, for demonstration of «sinema». And also it was rented for their performances by visiting troupes of theater actors. It was owned by a certain A.S. Nikulichev. He decided to found his own theater.
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The newly formed troupe received the name «Renaissance» and a new building on Primorsky Boulevard. The first theater had a capacity of 150 spectators. It had a voluminous stage, 2 tiers of boxes and a parterre for poor citizens. The owner sent the program of performances to naval officers in the form of elegantly decorated letters. Portraits of leading actors were printed in all city newspapers, and many ladies read only reviews prepared by critics for the next performance.
After the October coup under the roof of the «Renaissance» gathered many famous theatrical figures from all over the Russian Empire, attracted by the proximity of the sea and the possibility of emergency emigration from a country swimming in blood and chaos of civil war. It is known for sure that in 1919 Vertinsky himself sang at Nikulichev’s. And it was here that the legendary Faina Ranevskaya began her career.
When in 1920 the Soviet power reached the south of the Crimean peninsula, tenor Sobinov, appointed by the sub-department of arts Sevastopol Revolutionary Committee, created on the basis of the old «Renaissance» the first Soviet theater. Well, and in honor of the current Commissar of Education Lunacharsky, fixed over the newly formed creative unit of his name.
During World War II, the entire creative team was evacuated to Kyrgyzstan. And when in 1945 people returned to Sevastopol, it turned out that the building of the theater on Primorsky Boulevard was destroyed by a German airplane bomb. At first, the artists performed on a summer platform in the park, and later — in the club of «Sevastopolstroy», which occupied the premises of the Peter and Paul Church.
At this time, on Nakhimov Avenue, on the shore of Sevastopol Bay, the erection of a luxurious new building for the old theater group was already underway. The author of the project was Pelevin. The head of construction — Almazova. The building was designed for 800 spectators. In August 1957 the theater was commissioned, and on August 30 the theater presented to the citizens Vishnevsky’s play «Optimistic Tragedy».
The new building of the theater on Nakhimov Avenue is not much different from others built in those years in the Soviet Union. Those who stay on vacation in Sevastopol will see the same pseudo-classical style — snow-white columned facade of the Parthenon, masking the monumentality of the Mausoleum. The only difference between this attraction of Sevastopol and its numerous clones is the columned gallery on the obverse of the building. You can climb it by a wide staircase, which can become a great background for your vacation photo report. Today, the Lunacharsky Theatre specializes in staging plays by Russian, Soviet playwrights and foreign classics. It tours extensively. The opening of the theater season is always eagerly awaited by residents and guests of the hero-city.