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Poltava has a long theatrical tradition that has been formed over many generations. The first theater in Poltava was built in 1810 at the expense of the city. It was located on what is now Teatralna Street, in the German colony. This theater was run by Governor-General Mykola Repnin. In early 1818, he invited the then-famous Ivan Stein troupe from Kharkiv, which included the later famous artist Mykhailo Shchepkin. The local troupe was small at the time: it consisted of 15 people. Ivan Kotliarevskyi was appointed as the chief director, and in 1819 he wrote the opera Natalka Poltavka and the vaudeville Moskal the Magician for the Poltava theater. Kotliarevskyi wrote some of his roles for Mykhailo Shchepkin, who was redeemed from serfdom while working in Poltava. The repertoire of the theater consisted of comedies, operas, and ballet.
Despite the large capital building and the money spent, this building, as a theater, existed only until the middle of the nineteenth century and was subsequently demolished. In 1852, on the initiative of Governor-General S. Kokoshkin, on the occasion of the transfer of the Illinska Fair to Poltava that year, a large wooden theater was built in the city garden, with its main facade facing Instytutska Street (now Vitalii Hrytsaienko Avenue). But this building, which passed several times from one hand to another, fell into disrepair due to old age and was sold for demolition to the merchant G. Eisler, who in the same year built a small open-air theater in the city garden using the same material; unfortunately, this last one burned down on October 2, 1888.
In 1882, the merchant S. Panasenko used his own shops to build a two-story stone theater on the corner of Novo-Poltavska (now Shevchenka) and Stritenska streets. This theater also burned down on August 15, 1897, and Panasenko built barracks for the troops stationed in Poltava instead.
In June 1898, a temporary wooden summer theater was set up in Olexandrivskyi Park (now Korpusnyi Park). The first performance there was given by local drama enthusiasts; it was the play "The Talentless". This theater was dismantled in 1901 by a resolution of the City Council.
Finally, in 1900, Poltava received a new building for educational purposes and a theater in it. The authors were Professor Olexii Trambytskyi and the provincial zemstvo architect Olexandr Shyrshov, who also participated in the construction of the monument to Ivan Kotliarevskyi. The theater was built on the site of the city's Suzdalsky Row shops, on Ivanivska Street (now Gogol Street), by the city's public administration, with a subsidy from the provincial committee for national sobriety and the Poltava district zemstvo. The cost of construction, including all fixtures and services, was up to 180,000 rubles. The house was created as a multifunctional facility for educational and charitable purposes and had the following rooms: a hall for public readings, a dining room, a tea room and a library. The main hall was a 1000-seat auditorium that had good acoustics and could be used as a theater. The hall had balconies, loggias, an orchestra pit, and a compact stage box. The Poltava City Duma approached the famous traveling artist Hryhorii Miasoiedov with a proposal to create a theater curtain for the newly built theater. The work on the curtain lasted more than three years and upon completion, the author presented it to the city without taking any payment. The plot of the large canvas (6x12 meters) depicts the outskirts of Poltava with a view of the Holy Cross Monastery. On the side of the road sits a kobzar, in whom one can easily recognize Taras Shevchenko, singing a duma to a traveler who looks very much like Mykola Gogol. Today, this theatrical curtain is on display in the halls of the Poltava Museum of Local Lore named after Vasyl Krychevskyi.
The play "The Inspector" by M. Gogol was staged for the opening of the educational house. In 1903, on the occasion of the opening of the monument to I.Kotliarevskyi, the Educational House hosted celebrations attended by Lesia Ukrainka, Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi, Mykola Starytskyi, Panas Myrnyi, Vasyl Stefanyk, Volodymyr Samiilenko, Olena Pchilka, and others. A stone memorial plaque to the right of the main entrance of the modern theater building commemorates this event.
In 1906, the stationary Ukrainian theater of Mykola Sadovskyi began its work with Ivan Karpenko-Kary's play "Martyn Borulia". At various times, the luminaries of Ukrainian theater Ivan Tobilevych, Marko Kropyvnytskyi, and Mariia Zankovetska also performed on the stage of the Poltava Educational House; in 1903 and 1911, Mykola Lysenko performed. In the fall of 1909, under the direction of Hryhorii Miasoiedov, the "Living Pictures" to Taras Shevchenko's poem "Kateryna" were staged.
Various theater companies came to Poltava from time to time to perform. There was no theater company of its own, but there was a strong amateur musical and dramatic group, which was attended by intellectuals, workers, shoemakers, and others.
In 1911-1918, the Poltava Music and Drama Club operated at the theater, and the Poltava Ukrainian Drama Society performed performances. In 1919-1929, the Poltava Opera House gave performances.In 1936, the Poltava Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater named after M. Gogol was housed here, and since 1958 it has occupied a new spacious building with 530 seats.
In 1941-1943, the Gogol Educational House was destroyed during the fighting. In 1961, the building was restored, preserving the original architectural forms of the facades, but with the interior space redesigned for the functional needs of the Kolos Cinema. As a result of the redevelopment, the original theater hall was lost. Since the 90s of the twentieth century, the building has been used as a multifunctional facility with a two-screen cinema and entertainment venues.
The building of the former Educational House named after M. Gogol is located in the historic center and is one of the compositional accents of this part of the city. The building of the State Archives of Poltava Region and the former Educational House named after V. Korolenko (now the Poltava Lyceum No. 10 named after V.Korolenko) are located nearby.
1900
According to the Order of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine of 17.05.2017 No. 430 "On the Inclusion of Cultural Heritage Objects in the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine", the Educational House named after Mykola Gogol is listed as an architectural monument of local significance, protection No. 3-Pl.
22 Gogol Street
