Cultural-Historical Background of New Ukrainian Theater Creation (End of XIX – Beginning of XX Century)

The purpose of the work is to generalise the main factors influencing the development of the new Ukrainian theatre at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. The research methodology is based on the use of the following methods: comparative-analytical, cultural, and source studies. The scientific novelty of the study consists in a comprehensive study and generalisation of the main cultural and historical prerequisites for the creation of a new Ukrainian theatre in a certain historical period. Conclusions. The cultural and historical prerequisites for the creation of a new Ukrainian theatre are mainly related to the social and political situation in which the Ukrainian nation was during the struggle for independence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Based on the research of Ukrainian theatre experts, it has been concluded that the prerequisites for the creation of a new Ukrainian theatre were changes in the political situation in the Ukrainian territories at the end of the 19th century, namely the reform policy of the 1860s and 1870s, the abolition of serfdom, judicial reform, educational reform, land and city reforms, and repression of the Ukrainian people, in particular regarding Ukrainian culture. Oppression of the Ukrainian language and culture could not restrain the development of the general theatre process, which led to the creation of the first Ukrainian-language theatre companies, such as the company of H. Ashkarenko, M. Kropyvnytskyi, M. Sadovskyi, and M. Starytskyi, which became the foundation for the formation of a new Ukrainian theatre 
Key words: theatre, theatre art, history, cultural and historical prerequisites of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, new Ukrainian theatre