Our mission:
Palme Theatre is a russian-language theatre company founded by Oleg Palme and Lilia Ahachinskaia. We are presenting and producing performances and events on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish First Nations: xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Musqueam, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Squamish and səlilwətaɬ Tsleil-Waututh.
Starting from 1996, we have created 36 original works of theatre, numerous community events (such as annual concerts Spring at 4th Street and Poetry Night) and participated in cultural festivals (e.g. Russian Classic, Slavic Day, White Nights Festival organized by the Vancouver Opera). We have under our belt such tough-to-stage classics as Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, Nikolai Gogol’s Dead Souls, and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Annually, we bring joy and entertainment to children with Holiday Season productions of fairy tales combined with interactive shows, where we share with kids the tradition of celebrating the Holidays the way that their parents celebrated it in their childhood.
Palme Theatre is committed to building an artistic family for the russian-speaking community, where anyone and everyone has a place to realise their creativity, celebrate culture and find their friends. Artists are utilizing and developing their skills in our theatre. Kids alongside adults are participating in shows, and are provided with training opportunities in drama, stage voice, singing, and dance classes. Spectators are supporting other members of the growing community. Through all these means, we remember and value the approach established by Oleg Palme as our mission: viewing culture as our common ground and enjoying artistic endeavours together.
On April 27, 2022 our theatre lost the central figure behind all our past works, our founder, director and tutor Oleg Palme. Throughout almost three decades of collaboration with a community of immigrants and establishing a network of artists, Oleg gave us his unique method of training, together with a vision on how to practice theatre. This heritage is presented in the many generations of his students, who are ready to keep alive the energy Oleg put into his work, following his credo: "Create with Love".
The title of Theatre Palme is Oleg’s last name, but not only. I see it as an abbreviation in Russian, standing for ‘the Breakthrough of Love, Craftsmanship and Energy’. The space of our theatre is the space, where we ‘create with love’.
Our chief assets are people. We are open for inspired grown-ups, who saved their trustful and curious inner child, for passionate youths, who are hungry for educating and developing themselves, for teens, either inquisitive or sometimes difficult, and for kids, who like to play with other kids in real life.
We have schooled generations of Vancouverites. Teenagers often came to us first and then brought their parents. Today we are teaching children of our ex-youths’ students.
Hundreds of creative people have studied and collaborated with Palme Theatre. For some of them the theatre was just a couple years of their life experiences, while with others we shared the years of their childhood, then youth, and theatre became their lifestyle, full of bright events and memories.
Everyone is welcomed to come by and fall in love with theatre, where inspired people are flourished bringing joy to themselves and to others.
See you at the theatre,
Lilia Ahachinskaia
Administrator
Stage Director
Stage Director, Literary Advisor
Choreography, Sound Design
Technical Director
Sound and Lighting Technician