The origins of Slovene theatre may be traced back to the folk farce of the medieval period. By the 15th century Latin liturgical dramas were staged throughout the region, and during 16th century under the Habsburg monarchy a small number of Jesuit school theatre groups emerged to stage productions mainly in German and Latin, but also occasionally in Slovene. The text of one popular Baroque play written by Capuchin Prior Romuald in 1721 includes around 1,000 Slovene verses, several German passages and instructions for direction. A reconstruction of this play, known as the Škofja Loka Passion Play, has been restaged intermittently since 1999 in the town of Škofja Loka. Another early piece of Slovene theatre may be seen in the masked rite of Spring known as Kurentovanje, held every February in Ptuj during the 10-day run-up up to Shrove Tuesday.

New styles emerged with the emergence of Enlightenment thought and the French Revolution. In 1790, under the tutelage of Baron Žiga Zois, dramatist, poet, historian and cosmopolite Anton Tomaž Linhart prepared the first performance in the Slovene language of his comedy The Happy Day or Matiček is Getting Married, modelled after La folle journee ou le Mariage de Figaro by Beaumarchais.

The first theatre was built in 1765, but for a long time this was used almost exclusively by German and Italian artists. In 1867 the Dramatično društvo ('Dramatic Society') was formed and finally, in 1892, a national theatre was founded in Ljubljana under the direction of Ignacij Borštnik. Until 1914 Slovene theatre performances were also held in Trieste, now part of Italy, where the Stalno slovensko gledališče (SSG) ('Permanent Slovene Theatre') still exists today. During the 19th century German troupes presented the classic repertoires of Schiller, Goethe, Shakespeare and Moliere throughout Slovene territory. The writer Ivan Cankar (1876-1918), who lived at the turn of the century, was perhaps the most eminent Slovene playwright of the period. His unique modernist style shifted from realism to impressionism and symbolism, and his work was heavy with social, moral and political analysis and criticism.

After World War I Slovene theatre was professionalised and began to keep pace with contemporary world trends. In the process of the so-called 'Europeanisation of Slovene theatre', Slovene theatre artists, after long years of struggling for performances in their own language, became determined to reach the level of contemporary European production. They were influenced in this by the Burgtheater of Vienna and the Moscow Art Theatre; while the latter was important in regard to new ideas in the art of acting and producing, the former was influential in promoting the established repertoire classics. After World War II, the influence of Soviet cultural politics on Slovene theatre was not very strong nor long lasting. Many new theatres were established around the country, including professional puppet theatres in Ljubljana and Maribor. Experimental and alternative theatrical groups also flourished, playing an essential part in Slovene theatrical life.