The Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theatre ( lv, Mihaila Čehova Rīgas Krievu teātris, russian: Рижский русский театр имени Михаила Чехова), colloquially referred to as the Russian Theatre ( lv, Krievu teātris, russian: Русский театр) or the RRT, is a

Russian-language Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European language family. It is one of four living Eas ...

theatre in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the ...

, Latvia. It is located on 16 Kaļķu iela, Riga. The Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theatre (known before 2006 as Riga Russian Drama Theatre) was founded in 1883, making it the oldest Russian-language drama theatre outside

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. The original troupe consisted of sixteen actors. The theatre grew during the 19th century and had something of a golden age during the leadership of K.N. Nezlobin, prior to the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

. The theatre continued to operate after Latvia became an independent country following the

Latvian War of Independence The Latvian War of Independence ( lv, Latvijas Neatkarības karš), sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles () or the Latvian War of Liberation (), was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaim ...

(1918–20). During the subsequent Soviet occupation of Latvia, the theatre continued to operate, but had to adapt to the political censorship of the day. It did not put on any performances during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Following the dissolution of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

and the re-establishment of Latvian independence, the theatre can once more offer a mix of classical plays and new, innovative plays. In 2006, it was named after

Michael Chekhov Mikhail Aleksandrovich Chekhov (russian: Михаил Александрович Чехов; 29 August 1891 – 30 September 1955), known as Michael Chekhov, was an American actor, director, author and theatre practitioner. He was a nephew ...

, who spent two years in Riga (1932-1934) and influenced the Latvian theatre and performing arts. Since the 8 January 2018, the theatre has been led by Dana Bjorka, general manager and member of the board.

References

External links

Official website
{{Coord, 56, 56, 56.23, N, 24, 06, 34.77, E, type:landmark_region:LV, display=title Theatres in Riga