Azerbaijani theater art has passed an ancient and rich historical path. On March 10, 1873, the theater lovers' troupe of the Baku real school performed M.F. Akhundzade's comedy "Sarguzeshti-vaziri-khan Lankaran". With this performance, the foundation of the national theater was laid in Azerbaijan.

In the 1870s and 1880s, theater lovers operating in different cities of Azerbaijan gradually gathered around Baku's theater figures. Since 1887, the Baku theater troupe has been headed by Habib Bey Mahmudbeyov, Sultan Majid Ganizade and N. Valiyev, and since 1888 they have been operating as an independent theater collective.

In 1908, a united drama troupe, uniting professional actors such as H.Arablinski, S.Ruhulla and A.Veli, was created under “Nijat” charity union (the society was founded in 1906); the troupe had a permanent wardrobe and props. The troupe performed once or twice a week in the Tagiyev Theater and in the workers' districts.

The building of the Taghiyev theater, which was burned down in 1918, was restored by the decision of the republican government.

In 1920, after the fall of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the United State Theater was established. All troupes and amateur actors operating in Baku joined the theater. In 1922, the drama troupe separated from the United State Theater and became an independent theater.

The Baku Free Turkish Criticism and Propaganda Theater played an important role in the theater life of Baku with its Russian (1920) and Azerbaijani (1921) sections. The Russian troupe of the Baku Free Criticism and Propaganda Theater has been operating under the name of the Baku Workers' Theater since 1923, and has been named the Azerbaijan State Russian Drama Theater since 1937 (since 1956 after S. Vurgun. In the 1925-1930s, a special place in the theater's repertoire was given to modern dramaturgy.

In 1955-1960, a number of interesting plays on classical and modern themes were prepared in the theater: "Eye doctor" (Islam Safarli), "Aligulu is getting married", "Lie" (Sabit Rahman), "Flame" (M. Huseyn), "Kandchi" girl", "Kozeren ocagar" (M. Ibrahimov), "You are always with me", "I can't forget", "Destroyed diaries" (I. Efendiyev), "The Dead" (J. Mammadguluzade) and etc.

In 1974, the 100th anniversary of the Azerbaijan theater, which produced successful performances, was celebrated, three artists of the theater (M. Mammadov, I. Dagistanli and I. Osmanli) were awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR.

In 1989-2006, 10 new theaters were founded in the country and given the status of state theater in consideration of their creative success.

In 2006, the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On Theater and Theater Activities" was adopted in Azerbaijan. In 2007, President Ilham Aliyev signed another important document related to theater art - the Decree "On the development of Azerbaijani theater art". On May 18, 2009, the head of state approved the State Program "Azerbaijani Theater in 2009-2019".

“National Theater day” was established in our country by the Decree of President Ilham Aliyev, dated March 2013, 1, according to the decree, it was decided to celebrate March 10 as “National Theater day” in the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The success of the Azerbaijani theater is still ahead.

Believing that the Azerbaijani theater will achieve greater success in the upcoming exciting scenes.

Recommended literature:

1. Azərbaycan teatr antologiyası: 2 cilddə / Azərbaycan Respublikası Mədəniyyət və Turizm Nazirliyi; red. heyəti: A. P. Nemət [et al.] ; tərt. İ. Ə. Rəhimli ; elmi red. Ə. Vəliyev ; layihənin rəh. Ə. M. Qarayev. - (Azərbaycan teatrı). I cild. - Bakı : n. y., 2013. - 597 s.
2. Azərbaycan teatr antologiyası : 2 cilddə / Azərbaycan Respublikası Mədəniyyət və Turizm Nazirliyi; red. heyəti: A. P. Nemət [et al.] ; tərt. İ. Ə. Rəhimli ; elmi red. Ə. Vəliyev ; layihənin rəh. Ə. M. Qarayev. - (Azərbaycan teatrı). II cild. - Bakı : n. y., 2013. - 621 s.
3. Vəliyev, Ədalət Məqsəd oğlu. Azərbaycan milli teatr prosesinin çağdaş təşkilatlanma problemləri : monoqrafiya / Ə. M. Vəliyev ; elmi red. İ. S. Kərimov. - Bakı : Elm, 2003. - 194 s.
4. Rəhimli, İlham Əziz oğlu. Azərbaycan teatrı : [iki əsrlik səhnə tariximiz bir kitabda] / İ. Ə. Rəhimli ; elmi red. Ə. M. Vəliyev ; red.: M. Ə. Əlizadə, R. Sadıqov, A. A. Talıbzadə. - Bakı : TEAS Press, 2018. - 912 s.
5. Велиев, Адалят Магсад оглы. Азербайджанский театр начала XXI века : организационные проблемы современного Азербайджанского Национального Театра / А. Велиев ; науч. ред. И. С. Керимов. - Баку : Təhsil NPM, 2016. - 216 с.