Small Theatre – NCA

The National Centre for Anesthetic’s Small Theatre (NCA Small Theatre) is one of the innovative theatre companies in Armenia. In 1997 Director Vahan Badalyan founded it as a drama-studio. From the get-go, its mission has been the same: create theatre productions with unique signatures and be a platform for young people interested in theatre studies to carry out cultural and educational programs. The core theme of the plays staged over the years was to combine theatrical genres and styles by moving freely from drama to dance and crossing the boundaries of the individual forms’ traditions.

The NCA Small Theatre has a successful experience of effective cooperation with a number of foreign theatre companies and institutions, which began in 2006. As a result, joint co-productions, master classes, and workshops have been organized for the local artistic community.

One of the most successful collaborations was with the Italian Versiliadanza Cultural Association in 2008 resulting in two performances. The 7th Sense (2009) and SDD-Shakespeare's Dead Dreams (2015) were performed on local and international stages as well as in performing arts festivals. The performances were warmly received by multicultural audiences and theatre critics.

One of the NCA Small Theatre’s major steps was the establishment of an inclusive dance company. The participants are performers with and without disabilities who dance side by side. This project was held in cooperation with the British Council in Armenia and Candoco prominent dance group (In the UK) in 2014. The dance group has already presented 5 performances, such as “Don’t Leave Me” (2014), “Gallery of Emotions”, “Hireath” (2015), “LaVieEnRose/Other Dances” (2018), and “Colors” (2023).

The NCA Small Theatre participated in various prestigious international performing arts festivals receiving multiple local and international awards.