MOSCOW, July 4. /TASS/. Seven tonnes of water will fall down to the stage of the Mossovet Theater in Moscow on Tuesday, marking the first run of "The Hidden Force," a play staged by world-famous director Ivo van Hove, the press service of the XIII International Chekhov International Theater Festival told TASS.

"This will be the first acquaintance of the Russian audience with the works of Ivo van Hove, who is, perhaps, the most popular director in the world today," Valery Shadrin, Director General of the Chekhov Festival, told TASS.

"It's not without reason that he was awarded the prestigious Lawrence Olivier award. Our stage designers need to learn how to do such performances," Shadrin added.

Speaking about "The Hidden Force", the Belgian director said that first of all he tried to make a very spectacular performance, so as the viewer will feel himself "in the heart of the storm, at the center of this hurricane."

The play is based on the eponymous novel by the outstanding Dutch writer Louis Couperus (1863-1923), who anticipated the collapse of the colonies in this book. More than a hundred years after the publication the novel has not lost its relevance and is still an exciting story about false representations and misunderstandings, not only between different cultures, but also between close relatives.

"The second meaning of the "hidden force" expression is "nature." You never know when it will rage, when it will be kind to you and when it will destroy you," Ivo van Hove said.

The play will be performed by the actors of the Toneelgroep Amsterdam on the stage of the Mossovet Theater four times - until July 7. Ivo van Hove has been director of the Toneelgroep Amsterdam since 2001.

About the Chekhov Festival

The International Chekhov Theater Festival was established in 1992 and has since been held every two years. This year the festival is held for 13th time, and also marks 25th anniversary of the event.

It began on May 24 and will last until July 20. During this time, Muscovites will be offered 22 performances of different genres from Argentina, Brazil, Britain, Germany, Canada, Cuba, Kirghizia, the Netherlands, Russia, the US, Taiwan, France, South Korea, Estonia.

The festival is sponsored by the Russian government, the government of Moscow, the Ministry of Culture and the Department of Culture of Moscow, as well as governmental and non-governmental organizations of foreign countries.