This theatre has had the honourable mission of launching professional theatre. It was accompanied by a succession of name changes: it began life as the Drama Playhouse with the premiere of H. Sudermann's "Midsummer" on 19 December 1920, and later took wings as the State Theatre (1925). During the difficult years of the German occupation, it was called the Bolshoi Theatre, and at one point it was even called the Kaunas State Musical Drama Theatre (1950). It settled with the name of the State Academic Drama Theatre until 2012, when it was given its twelfth name and its current status as a national theatre.
The theatre settled into its current home in 1959.After the first drama was staged at the City Theatre, now the Kaunas State Musical Theatre, and after decades of sharing the stage with its opera and ballet brethren, it managed to settle into the building of the inter-war cinema Metropolitain (1928). Even equipped with the most modern technology, it has not lost the spirit of the interwar period and its unique Art Deco style.
This is the birthplace of the national drama that emerged between the two world wars, of the art of scenography, and of generations of theatre directors and composers. For more than 100 years, the theatre's creative wealth has been nurtured by several hundred actors - personalities who have created the history of theatre throughout Lithuania.
The theatre, whose origins established the example of political literacy of the then young Lithuanian state, tirelessly spoke of freedom, and when it was lost, there was a silent resistance, it saw the dawn of the emerging state, and experienced 30 years of new independence.
You can still experience more than 100 years of history today by strolling through the gallery created for the Theatre's centenary. It starts from the façade and leads to the archway to the inner courtyards of the theatre. The uncharted, unexplored spaces of the theatre courtyard are like the backstage of a theatre. They invite you not only to see, but also to feel the spirit of theatre history and creativity for yourself. Or visit the theatre's extensive archive of more than 600 performances.
