The Katona József Theatre was born in 1982 as an independent company in the Sándor Petőfi Street, Budapest. It became a dominant theatre of Budapest in a short time. Even after three decades, its audience is still entertained by excellent, internationally recognized performances. The company first tour abroad was in 1985, since then they set foot at five continents' forty countries. During the last decades, a Russian classical play was on repertoire in each season; the guest appearances of this shows abroad were widely applauded. More pieces of classics (Shakespeare, Molière), in addition to first-rate contemporary drama plays have been staged. During three decades, hundreds of artists, including the first presentation of now renowned playwrights, made a bond with the Katona as member or guest of the company. One of the most successful pieces of the theatre was the Three Sisters by Chekov, which has been staged 238 times. Another Chekhov play, the Ivanov has been played in four continents' twenty-three cities.