XIX международный театральный фестиваль «Мелиховская Весна» 2018

The program of the 19th "Melikhovskaya Vesna" is rather rich as always: theaters of Moscow, Grodno, Samara, Lipetsk, Syktyvkar, Perm and Yoshkar-Ola will take part in the festival. The list of the participants of the 19th festival was approved by the Expert Council consisting of well-known Russian theater critics.

The goal of the festival "Melikhovskaya Vesna" – is to show a variety of stage interpretations of works by Anton Chekhov. Therefore, every year the Organizing Committee and the Expert Advisory Board are trying to make up a program of performances of different genres and theater styles. One of the features of "Melikhovskaya Vesna" is a compulsory play The Seagull in the festival program as we have it each year. In 2018, the festival will present to you three of its versions that are different in both form and meaning. There are two Seagulls stated in the list of the theater program. We expect two presentations to come from: one is the V. Savin Drama Theater of Syktyvkar (Director: Elena Olenina) and the other is Grodno Puppet Theatre (Director: Oleg Zhugzhda). Whereas the third one will “fly” to the estate on the first day of the festival. But it will be not a staging. It would be a screen version of the play. A sort of an emotional short film that was made by a team of creative community of Kyrgyz and Russian filmmakers. This film is the winner of many competitions. It was shot by a young director Elizabeth Stishova from Kyrgyzstan.

The film program of the festival on the day of its opening has another film in the list. It is Three sisters directed by Yuri Grymov, who will present his picture to the audience. After the show, the spectators will meet with the famous Director and the film crew.

We are happy to say that theater program of "Melikhovskaya Vesna" is becoming more and more interesting every year in terms of high standards. So, in 2018, "NEAR Stanislavsky's house" theater from Moscow will be the guest of the festival for the first time. It will show us the play TO FORGET or no longer LIVE (produced by Yuri Pogrebnichko, directed by Lilia Zagorskaya). It is a kind of fantasy on the themes of stories by Chekhov.

A new Moscow theater with a strange name “ROOM” will bring here its version of Ward №6 story. Another company Moscow Open student theatre (MOST) will be eager to present a sort of a mix performance staged on the basis of plays by Anton Chekhov. They simply call it CHEKHOV. The Mari Youth Theatre will show us a story IN the RAVINE, staged by young Director Ervina Gordeeva. Leo Tolstoy Lipetsk State Academic Drama Theater is a permanent guest of our Melikhovo festival. It will bring here a hilarious comedy I came! I saw! I fell in love! based on jokes by Anton Chekhov. The Mesto deystviya (The Venue) young people theater from Samara will perform a staged version of the play THREE SISTERS. You will not see it in the Melikhovo estate as its usual location, but on the stage of another festival venue – Serpukhov Music and Drama Theater.

Traditionally, our special program "Visiting Anton Chekhov" is also a part of the festival this year. The audience will see theatricals based on the works of Maxim Gorky, whose 150th anniversary is celebrated in March 2018. They will be performed by graduate students of a workshop headed by Pavel Khomsky and Sergey Golomazov from Russian Institute of Theatre Arts – GITIS. You will see their fresh staging The Philistines. An Attempt of Interpretation. Besides, a frequent guest of our festival The Authorial Theatre «U Mosta» (At the Bridge) from Perm will show you one of its last premieres - the play VASSA. (FIRST VERSION) directed by Sergey Fedotov.

The festival will not do without a premier as well. Theater "Chekhov Studio" is going to make a special surprise for visitors of the Museum-Reserve "Melikhovo" this spring. Here there will be the first night of a "Chekhov Studio" version of Uncle Vanya especially staged by Kirill Loskutov for this festival.

In addition to the above, the 2018 festival program will be enriched with a number of interesting events and occasions. This year "Melikhovskaya Vesna" festival for the first time will arrange the so called CHILDREN's DAY, which will involve two integrated programs for children of different ages. The first program package is intended for very young guests from 2 to 6 years. It includes the play Through eyes of flowers staged by the Moscow SNARK theater and an exciting adventure based on the story Kashtanka by Anton Chekhov. The second program is designed for young visitors from 7 to 14 years. As part of it, would be the play Ballet slippers. It is a recent premiere of the theater "Chekhov Studio" of the Museum-Reserve "Melikhovo", made up as a fascinating quest on the estate.

Traditionally, on May 24, the festival will host the Day of Oleg Yefremov. This time it will be in the form of a session with graduates of Oleg Yefremov course of Moscow Art Theater School-Studio. The meeting will take place on the veranda of of Chekhov’s mansion. Former students and now famous actors of notable Moscow theaters (i.e. Anton Chekhov Moscow Art Theatre, Pushkin Theatre, Malaya Bronnaya Theatre, Gogol center theater. Mossovet State Academic Theatre, Kvartet I theatre, Gubernsky (Moscow Region) theatre and others), popular actors, teachers and musicians together with the family and relatives of Oleg Nikolaevich Yefremov will recall the Master, recite poetry and prose, sing songs from soundtracks.

The 19th Melikhovskaya Vesna will open on May 19, 2018 as part of the all-Russia project A Night at the Museum. The opening scenario is traditionally kept secret. We can only tell you that guests will surely enjoy a rich concert program with presentation of theaters of the festival in the style of jazz cabaret.