Activities

Cultural

The Yerevan Theatre of the Young Spectator

Yerevan

The Yerevan Theatre of the Young Spectator was founded in 1929 by director Tigran Shamirkhanyan and opened with the play “Explosion.” It was the first children’s theatre in Armenia. It is located at 3 Moskovyan Street in the city centre and is run by the Yerevan municipality. Many major figures of Armenian theatre began their careers here. Among them was Hrachya Ghaplanyan, who staged 28 productions on this stage before founding his own theatre. What you can do there: bring children and teenagers to fairy tales, adaptations of Armenian and world literature, and youth-oriented drama

Cultural

Small Theatre (Vahan Badalyan)

Yerevan

The Small Theatre is part of the Henrik Igityan National Center of Aesthetics, whose headquarters are on Abovyan Street in the city center. It grew out of a drama studio and is led by artistic director Vahan Badalyan. It has become one of Armenia’s most innovative companies. In 2014, together with the British Council and the UK’s Candoco Dance Company, it created Armenia’s first inclusive dance company, in which disabled and non-disabled performers dance side by side. That company’s first performance, “Ne me quitte pas” (Don’t Leave Me), won the Artavazd National Theatre Award. The theatre also runs educational programs for young people and has toured abroad, including to the UK, Georgia and Kazakhstan.

Cultural

The Henrik Malyan Film Actor Theatre

Yerevan

The Henrik Malyan Film Actor Theatre was founded in 1980 by Henrik Malyan, one of Soviet Armenia’s most important film directors, best known for “Nahapet” (1977). It began as a theatre-studio for film actors, opening with “Instructive Fairy Tales of My Homeland,” which Malyan directed himself. The theatre was renamed after him in 1988, the year he died. Today it is led by his daughter, Narine Malyan.

Cultural

Armenian State Song Theatre

Yerevan

The Armenian State Song Theatre was founded in 1994 by composer and People’s Artist of Armenia Artur Grigoryan, who led it as artistic director until his death in 2022. For three decades, it has been a training ground for Armenian pop and stage singers, and hundreds of performers were shaped by Grigoryan’s mentorship. Around its 30th anniversary, the theatre was renovated and fitted with modern sound and lighting, keeping the style its founder established. Its productions include “The Komitas Project,” a musical show built on the folk-song heritage preserved by Komitas. What you can do there: attend concert-style musical shows and song programs that range from Armenian folk heritage to contemporary pop.

Cultural

Yerevan State Chamber Theatre

Yerevan

The Yerevan State Chamber Theatre officially opened on December 15, 1981. Its founder and artistic director is Ara Yernjakyan. The troupe began as the KVN comedy team of the Yerevan Polytechnic Institute, which became the first team to represent Armenia at the All-Union KVN games in Moscow in 1971–1972. The theatre is at 58 Mashtots Avenue. It works with its own creative method, the “Identification System,” which aims for direct interaction between stage and audience. Its productions range from satire and comedy to Shakespeare and musical shows, and it has won awards at festivals in Russia, Germany, Sweden, France, and elsewhere. A jazz trio has added live music to its performances since 1983. What you can do there: see productions with a strong comic and musical streak, from satirical sketches to reworked classics.

Cultural

The Yerevan State Marionette Theatre

Yerevan

The Yerevan State Marionette Theatre opened in 1987. It was the third marionette theatre in the Soviet Union, after Leningrad and Tbilisi, and the first to stage performances for adults as well as children. Its puppets are operated from above with strings. It is located at 43 Mashtots Avenue and has an intimate hall of about 70 seats. Its productions draw on both Armenian and international stories. What you can do there: see string-puppet shows for children and grown-ups in a small, close-up setting.

Cultural

The Yerevan State Pantomime Theatre

Yerevan

The Yerevan State Pantomime Theatre grew out of a professional troupe formed in 1969. 1974 is considered its official founding year, and it became a state theatre in 1983. The theatre continues a long Armenian tradition. Pantomime in Armenia has a history going back centuries, and the theatre named its 2001 international festival “Nazenik” in that spirit. Since 1998, the artistic director has been Zhirayr Dadasyan, and the theatre draws on Armenian medieval themes and imagery, creating a distinctly national school of mime. What you can do there: watch wordless performances that need no translation.

Cultural

Hakob Paronyan State Musical Comedy Theatre

Yerevan

The Hakob Paronyan State Musical Comedy Theatre was founded by a group of leading Armenian artists. It gave its first performance on December 23, 1941, and officially opened on June 22, 1942. It is named after the 19th-century satirist Hakob Paronyan and sits at 7 Vazgen Sargsyan Street, a short walk from Republic Square. Celebrated performers such as Svetlana Grigoryan, who spent six decades on its stage, built its reputation. From 1993 until his death in 2019, the theatre was led by artistic director Yervand Ghazanchyan. What you can do there: enjoy musical comedies, operettas, and satirical plays in Armenian in the heart of the city. Tickets at the box office or through local ticketing platforms such as tomsarkgh.am