The building that houses the Estonian Drama Theatre was originally built for the German theatre of Tallinn and completed in 1910 to designs by Saint Petersburg architects Nikolai Vassilyev and Alexey Bubyr.

The style is Art Nouveau[1][2][3] or, more specifically, National Romantic.

During the Soviet occupation the theatre was called the Viktor Kingissepp Tallinn National Drama Theatre but it reverted to its old name in 1989, prior to Estonia's re-gained independence.

Since it was founded, the Estonian Drama Theatre has cooperated with and staged plays by playwrights such as Hugo Raudsepp, August Kitzberg, Eduard Vilde, A. H. Tammsaare, Mats Traat, Jaan Kross and Oskar Luts.

During the 1980s, the theatre took on a political role as it staged plays with themes critical to the Soviet occupation and in favour of Estonian independence by writers like Jaan Kruusvall and Rein Saluri.