Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, in an Armenian-Russian family, she graduated in 1988 from the department of theatre criticism at the Russian Academy of Theater Arts. For many years, Davydova wrote theater reviews for Izvestia, one of the oldest Russian newspapers, and was the editor-in-chief of TEATR magazine. As an author, she published two monographs analyzing the last twenty years of the history of Russian theater. Marina has received numerous awards for theater criticism and won the Stanislavsky Award for the best book of the year in 2005. Additionally, she regularly publishes articles in the German magazine Theater heute. Davydova is one of the initiators of the NET festival (New European Theatre) in Moscow, founded in 1998, and served as its artistic director for 23 years. In 2016, Markus Hinterhäuser engaged her as a curator for the drama programme of the Wiener Festwochen. Beginning in the 2024 season, she will be the director of drama at the Salzburger Festspiele. As an open opponent of Russia’s war against Ukraine, Marina Davydova lives in exile in Berlin.