Today there are more than 100 theaters recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Among them are three which received highest status of National Theater – National Opera of Ukraine, National Academic Drama Theater of I.Franko and National Academic Theater of Russian Drama of Lesya Ukrainka. Kharkiv, Lviv, Odesa Theaters of Opera and Ballet, Lvov Drama Theater of Zankovetskaya, Kharkov Ukrainian Drama Theater of Taras Shevchenko, Kharkiv Russian Drama Theater of A.S. Pushkin, Crimean Russian Drama Theater named by Horky also have a high status of academic theaters.

Along with 28 Ukrainian theatres, 14 Russian theaters work in Ukraine as well as the Crimean-Tatar Theater in Symferopil and the Hungarian theater in Beregovo.

Theaters are working in many genres: 21 musical-drama theaters, 16 dramatic, 9 theaters for children and youth, 25 doll theaters, 6 theaters of Opera and ballet, theaters of drama and musical comedy, operetta, of marionettes, pantomime, etc.

Since independence, the number of theaters increased comparatively to previous years due to new theatrical groups of various genres, as well as the appearance of municipal departmental and private theaters.

In the latest years, the theatrical life of Ukraine has substantially diversified. Ukrainian theater is now developing at accelerated rates, successfully making up what it missed on what taboo was imposed before. By the efforts of many theatrical collectives the "Theater of Nikolay Kulish" was created, at the "Theater of Vladimir Vinnichenko", a number of foreign dramatists’ works is staged – classic and modern, traditional and experimental. The distance which existed between capital and regional troupes has been successfully overcome. Best presentations, say, Donetsk Musical-Drama Theater ("Inspector" by Gogol, "After Two Hares" by G.Staritskiy, "Orgy" by Lesyi Ukrainka), Nikolayev Theater of Drama and Comedy ("Ghostly efforts of love" by W. Shakespeare, "Aesop" by Figeyred), Lviv Theater of Zankovetskaya ("Uncle Vanya" by A.Chekhov. "While sun will set, dew will eat eyes" by M. Kropyvnytskiy), Ternopol Theater of T. G. Shevchenko ("Romul the Great" by F. Durrenmatt, "Love in Baroque Style" by Yaroslav Stelmakh), Chernigov Musical-Drama Theater ("Summer-Night Dream" by W. Shakespeare, "Lesson" E. Yonesko) are fully comparable with best performances of National Theater of I.Franko ("Aeneid" by I. Kotlyarevskiy, "King Lyres" by W. Shakespeare), National Theater of Russian Drama of Lesya Ukrainka ("School of Scandal" by Sheridan, "Toybele and her Demons" by Zinger), Kyiv Young Theater ("Hamlet" by W. Shakespeare, "Gedda Gabler" by G. Ibsen).

Theater in Ukraine has successfully entered European humanitarian space. Striking evidence of this is triumphal tours of the Franko Theater actors in Germany, Austria, Serbia and Montenegro, Poland, Macedonia, of the Zankovetskaya Theater actors in the USA and Great Britain, of the Lesia Ukrainka Theatre in Germany, Poland and Israel; and participation and victory of Chernigov’s actors in prestigious theatrical festivals in Poland and Egypt, of actors of Ternopol – in Poland and Great Britain, of Kyiv Theater of Young Spectators – in Serbia and Montenegro and in Turkey.

Presently a number of International festivals known throughout Europe, are taking place in Ukraine annually: “Golden Lion” in Lviv, “Ternopol Theatrical Evenings. Debut” in Ternopol, “Khersones Games” in Sevastopil, “Melpomena of Tavria” in Kherson, “Christmas Mystery” in Lutsk, and “Interlyalka” in Uzhgorod.