MOSCOW, January 12, /ITAR-TASS/. The State Theatre of Nations headed by actor Yevgeny Mironov is taking its play titled “Shukshin’s Stories” to the international "De Teatro Santiago a Mil" festival in Chile for the first time. The play staged by Latvian theatre director Alvis Hermanis will run on January 17, 18 and 19.
“Shukshin’s Stories” have been in the theatre’s repertoire since 2008. Over the years, the play has turned into an indisputable hit and the theatre’s trade mark which has been a success in Russia and abroad. The play has won almost all Russian theatrical awards such as the Crystal Turandot Prize; the Golden Statuette of the Golden Knight festival; the Hit of the Season Moscow theatrical award and a theatrical prize awarded by the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper. “Shukshin’s Stories” has received the Golden Mask award in three nominations.
“Honestly, I did not want to take part in that production. I thought that it would be better for stage director Alvis Hermanis to use young actors of our Theatre of Nations in this play,” Mironov said, accepting the Golden Mask.
“But soon I changed my mind. I am very grateful to Shukshin who helped us to have a breath of fresh air,” Mironov went on to say.
“When we started rehearsing the play, it became clear that Shukshin was almost a relative to all Russians. And this can be understood. Fewer and fewer healthy people like Vasily Shukshin remain in our plastic contemporary world,” Alvis Hermanis said in turn.
The play lasts for three and a half hours. During that time the actors present ten stories by Russian writer Vasily Shukshin, each time transforming beyond recognition. Nine out of ten actors who appear on the stage have to play dozens of roles. All of them do their job masterfully. That is why both Russian and foreign audiences give a hearty welcome to “Shukshin’s Stories”. Tickets are always sold out and there is not a single vacant seat in the hall. Over the past ten years, “Shukshin’s Stories” have taken part in ten European theatrical festivals. Now, they are on their way to their first Latin American guest tour.
The "De Teatro Santiago a Mil" festival is a major international forum. Its history goes back to 1994. The Santiago a Mil - 2014 programme includes dramatic, dancing and music plays from Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, China, Mali, Peru, the United States, Uruguay, France, Chile, Switzerland and Sweden. The programme includes over 60 events. The festival which is taking place in the Chilean capital and some other parts of the country is a meeting place of Latin American and European cultures.
The festival in Chile has close creative links with the Chekhov festival in Russia.