Ukrainian Classical Theatre

Abstract

The theatrical art of Ukraine dates back to ancient times, when it was expressed in folk games, dances, songs and rituals. Since the 11th century the theatrical performances of skomorokhs are known. In the era of Kievan Rus elements of theater were in church rituals. The first samples of drama as a literary genre can be found in the recitations of the pupils of the Kiev Brotherhood School (Kiev-Mohyla Academy) and Lavra School (16th-17th centuries). The Lviv Brotherhood School and the Ostrog Academy were also considered important centers for the development of religious drama at this time. Ukrainian theater began to develop actively in the Baroque era (17th-18th centuries). In the 17th century, a two-story puppet theater (Vertep) appeared. The formation of classical Ukrainian drama is associated with the names of Ivan Kotlyarevsky, who headed the theater in Poltava, and Hryhoriy Kvitka-Osnovyanenko, the founder of artistic prose in the new Ukrainian literature. Burlesque and expressiveness, along with picturesqueness and humor, characteristic of their works, defined the face of academic theater in Ukraine for a long time.