Tver Drama Theater is one of the largest regional theaters in Russia. It is located in a monumental building built in 1946 in the style of the Stalinist Empire. From 1974 to 2020, the artistic director was Vera Efremova, who staged dozens of famous performances. With her, the Tver Theater received the title of academic.
The first theater in Tver was created in 1745 at the Tver Theological Seminary. All the performances of that time concerned religious topics. The first building of the City Theater in Tver was built in 1787, it has already staged performances on secular topics. In 1879, a spacious Public Assembly building was converted for the Tver Theater, which is located opposite the City Garden.
After the German occupation of Tver in 1941, the city center lay in ruins. In 1946, its restoration began. The new monumental building of the Tver Drama Theater was built in the period from 1946 to 1951. The theater was built by Moscow architects A.Maksimov and P. Kukhtenkov. A traditional portico with Corinthian columns rises above the entrance.
The heyday of the Tver Theater is associated with the name of Vera Efremova. She became the artistic director of the theater in 1974 and left the theater only in 2020, at the age of 91. Vera Efremova died in 2021. She taught acting at the theater. Many of her students received the title of People`s Artist of Russia and Honored Artist of Russia.
