About Us

Small Theatre – NCA  is one of the most innovative theatrical companies in Armenia. The theatre company was founded by Vahan Badalyan about 20 years ago as a drama studio. The mission then and now is to produce independent, creative work, and to serve as a platform to provide various educational programs for youth interested in exploring the theatrical arts.  

Since its foundation, Small Theatre’s artists have remained committed to presenting unique works that celebrate the power of human imagination and the far-reaching influence of theatrical art on life. A predominant theme across the various original works produced over the years has been the quest to intertwine theatrical genres and styles in each performance, freely crossing from drama to dance and transcending traditions of individual forms. Small Theatre performances incorporate elements of many art forms, synthesizing speech with dance, music, and video art. The aim is to experiment with form and content, whilst producing work that is entertaining and accessible for a range of audiences. 

Since 2006, Small Theatre has successfully collaborated with a number of foreign theatrical companies and institutions to organize joint master classes & workshops for local artists and students from various disciplines (drama, dance, video art, photography, etc.). Together with these partners, the collective also provided internship opportunities for foreign students and produced joint performances in Armenia and abroad. 

One of the most successful collaborations was established in 2008 with the Italian Cultural Association “Versiliadanza” (Artistic Director: Angela Torriani Evangelisti), resulting in the co-production of two performances; “7th Sense” (2009) and SDD – Shakespeare Dead Dreams (2015) were produced and presented on local and international stages as well as in performing arts festivals. Both productions were warmly received by multicultural audiences and theater critics alike. 

Another important step for Small Theatre was the foundation of the first integrated Dance Company in Armenia, featuring disabled and non-disabled performers dancing side by side. The project was realized in cooperation with the British Council and the renowned Candoco Dance Company (UK) in 2014. The dance collective has already produced four performances: “Do Not Leave Me” (2014), “HIRAETH” (2015), SHAKEspeare(2017), and LaVieEnRose/OtherDances(2018).

From 2018-2020 Small Theatre was partnering with ‘ImPArt – Performing Arts redesigned for immediate accessibility‘ international project co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union, which took accessibility a step further. The aesthetics of access was a source of inspiration and encouraged experimentation. The four project partners from Germany, Armenia, Greece, and Italy set out on an expedition from May 2018-October 2020 with international artists, experts, and stakeholders with and without disabilities from various backgrounds such as dance, theatre, music, video, and poetry. 

“ImPArt” aimed to find new creative ways to allow everybody to have equal access to an artistic product.

Through workshops, creative residencies, masterclasses, international symposia, international summits, and international labs ImPArt researches and experiments with new thoughts and approaches for inclusion in the arts. As a result of this journey, three small-scale productions were born (Re: construction, Gravity (and other attractions), and The Little Prince) which premiered in September 2019 at the Greek National Opera in Athens. They will continue to tour through Germany, Italy, and other European countries to showcase the results of the project.

Small Theatre – NCA has participated in a number of prestigious international performing arts festivals and has won numerous awards. Countries visited include Germany (Rudolstadt, Lingen, Cologne), Russia (Moscow), Romania (Sibiu), Italy (Florence, Venice, Milan, Rome, Parma, Pisa, Campiglia Marittima, Salerno, Bagnone), Austria (Feldkirch), Slovenia (Ljubljana), USA (Boston), Kazakhstan (Almaty), Hungary (Papa), France (Toulouse), UK (Glasgow), Greece (Athens). 

The theatre was awarded the Main National Theatrical Award ARTAVAZD for the performances of “Diary of Madman”(2007) “Ophelia’s Shadow Theatre”(2008) and “Do Not Leave Me” (2015), and “SHAKEspeare”(2018).