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In the middle of the 18th century, Russia had all prerequisites to set up its national theatre.
In 1756, by Decree of Empress Elizabeth of Russia, the Russian Theatre was officially opened in St. Petersburg.
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The first mention of the amateur theatre in Kursk has been preserved in archival materials. It was the so-called «Theatre of Willing Comedians» as a transitional form to the professional theatre. Its participants composed the plots of the performances themselves and usually played them on the days of trade fairs.
The famous Korennaya Fair of Kursk province, (named after the famous monastery) hosted performances brought by the landowners from their serf home theatres. Those were home theatres of the Annenkovs, the Wolkensteins, the Baryatinskys, and the Nelidovs.
By the end of the 18th century, Kursk already needed its permanent theatre premises.
In his book «The Theatre in Kursk», published in 1887,
the playwright and memoir writer Ivan Kupchinsky wrote:
The first mention of the amateur theatre in Kursk has been preserved in archival materials. It was the so-called «Theatre of Willing Comedians», as a transitional form to the professional theatre. Its participants composed the plots of the performances themselves and played them out usually on the days of trade fairs’.
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