Armenian society re-develops love for theatre

The Armenian society is little by little re-establishing the tradition of visiting theatres, representatives of the area said today at a news conference devoted to the society’s attitude to theatrical art.

“I am convinced that cultural capitals secure an audience at the expense of tourists entering the city. Three million tourists enter Moscow each day. In Armenia, we probably have less than 300,000 [tourists] daily. We do not have an audience from abroad,” David Hakobyan, the State Musical Chamber Theatre’s director, noted.

He said most of Armenia’s 16 theatres today are based in capital Yerevan. “I had 7,560 in six months. What surprises me is that parents have started  taking their children to theatre on their own. I can say that ten in the one hundred children visiting theatre are future spectators,” Hakobyan added.

Levon Mutafyan, a theatrician also attending the news conference, said he really sees the society’s increasing interest in theatrical art. “The problem we are facing today is a little different,” he noted. “The question is whether our theatre develops mechanisms powerful enough to meet the demand.”


A major concern, Mutafyan added, is the salary of actors who he said are in the most socially vulnerable class today together with scholars and representatives of the creative world. “What we give an actor today is a scanty pay,” he added.