ROUSING RENDITION OF RUSSIAN LITERARY CLASSICS AT WATERSTONES
Literary Evening, part of Festival Maslenitsa
18:30–20:00, Wednesday 13 March 2013
Waterstones Piccadilly, London, UK
- Directors: Eduard Boyakov and Ruslan Malikov
- Script: Irina Mikhailovskaya
- Cast: Pavel Artemyev, Alisa Grebenschikova, Maria Koublanova, Irina Mykhailovskaya and Vera Polozkova
- Texts: Anna Akhmatova, Joseph Brodsky, Osip Mandelshtam, Boris Pasternak, Marina Tsvetaeva, Vera Polozkova and Dimitry Bykov
- Co-production: Praktika Theatre, Polytheatre (Moscow)
Tonight, on 13 March, literature and poetry lovers united in Piccadilly’s iconic bookshop to immerse themselves in Russia’s best-read modern and classic authors. Five members from Moscow’s famous Theatre Praktika regaled the crowd with their Avant-garde theatrical interpretation of classic Russian poems. Performances included readings in Russian with English translations projected on a screen. Topics covered included ‘The Poet and the Authorities: Always Rivals’, ‘The Poet and God: Ways Mysterious’, ‘Poet’s Testament’ and ‘Poets about Poets: Airways’.
Nestled fittingly between the Historical Fiction and Romance section on the giant book store’s first floor, the event was so full, people were standing in the wings. The audience was transported to Russia by the depth and enthusiasm of the actors. Praktika performed excerpts from the works of classic Russian poets and authors including Anna Akhmatova, Joseph Brodsky, Osip Mandelshtam, Boris Pasternak, Marina Tsvetaeva, Vera Polozkova and Dimitry Bykov.
“We very much enjoyed performing here at Waterstones. The atmosphere was extremely welcoming, warm and attentive – we were fully prepared for people to stand up and come and go during the performance as it was not planned as a formal theatre performance, but rather a literary evening. I am so pleased that the audience was riveted; you could feel the tension in the air! We are so happy to be here as part of Maslenitsa.” – Maria Koublanova, Praktika Director of International Projects
At the end of the night, a few lucky members of the audience received copies of Russian classics as part of a raffle distributed by Waterstones staff.
“The atmosphere was wonderful – Waterstones is a great store, with great people,” commented Irina Mikhailovskaya, who wrote the evening’s script. “While you can have poetry and literature anywhere – from London to Moscow to Paris – what is important is to have a reason to share it. It is often difficult to find an occasion to read a poem, it’s almost considered old-fashioned, so we need to create opportunities to do this, and the Maslenitsa Festival is just one such occasion, and a great way to share poetry and literature.”
The show was one of a number of events taking place across London this week to celebrate the coming Russian Shrovetide and pancake festival, which culminates in the free Festival Maslenitsa in Trafalgar Square on Saturday 16 March. These events, organised by Ensemble Productions, are intended to expose Londoners to the diversity of Russian Culture as part of Russian Week in London. Other Maslenitsa sponsored events include a photography exhibition at City Hall, Craft Master classes at the Russian Cultural Centre and a special tour of the V&A exhibit Treasures of the Royal Courts.
Before returning to Moscow, Praktika will be performing their renowned Babushki play on Sunday 17 March at Lillian Baylis Studio in Sadler’s Wells Theatre.
