In 2008, Alvis Hermanis, a Latvian theatre director, staged the play Shukshin’s Tales at the Moscow Theatre of Nations. The production was based on 10 stories by Vasily Shukshin: Stepka’s Love, Little Boots, Microscope, Mille Pardons Madame, Ignakha Arrives, Bespaly, The Wife Saw the Husband off to Paris, Got Him, Old Mother on Sunday, and Stepka.
The play starred actors Yevgeny Mironov, Chulpan Khamatova, Yulia Svezhakova, Pavel Akimkin, Yulia Peresild, Natalya Nozdrina, Alexander Grishin, Alexander Novin and Dmitry Zhuravlev. Composer Pavel Akimkin found an unusual musical solution by including authentic Russian folk songs in the production.
The premiere in Moscow was attended by Shukshin’s family: his widow Lidiya Fedoseyeva-Shukshina, his daughter Maria and his granddaughter Anna. Following the 2008-2009 season, Shukshin’s Stories won the Golden Mask, a Russian national theatre award, in three nominations at once: Best Large-Scale Drama Performance, Best Male Role in a Drama Performance, and Best Design in a Drama Performance.
In 2009, 80 years after the writer’s birth, the Altai region celebrated the Year of Shukshin. Shukshin’s Stories came on tour to the region’s capital, Barnaul. The locals were excited about the performance: long before the premiere, all tickets were sold out at the theatre’s box office. On the performance day, the hall of the Regional Drama Theatre was packed with people: they even sat on the floor and stood in the aisles.
The entire cast rehearsed the play at the author’s homeland, in the village of Srostki. They spent several days outdoors, met with Shukshin’s fellow countrymen, neighbours, and family members, people who were easily recognized in the characters of his stories. The company also visited the places where the writer had grown up. The production photographer and set designer Monica Pormale took hundreds of photos of portraits, everyday life, family scenes, and the nature of the village’s surroundings to use them in performance design. The trip helped the actors learn more about Shukshin and get into character. Actress Chulpan Khamatova said, ‘My trip to Srostki changed my attitude towards the performance altogether.’
The play starred actors Yevgeny Mironov, Chulpan Khamatova, Yulia Svezhakova, Pavel Akimkin, Yulia Peresild, Natalya Nozdrina, Alexander Grishin, Alexander Novin and Dmitry Zhuravlev. Composer Pavel Akimkin found an unusual musical solution by including authentic Russian folk songs in the production.
The premiere in Moscow was attended by Shukshin’s family: his widow Lidiya Fedoseyeva-Shukshina, his daughter Maria and his granddaughter Anna. Following the 2008-2009 season, Shukshin’s Stories won the Golden Mask, a Russian national theatre award, in three nominations at once: Best Large-Scale Drama Performance, Best Male Role in a Drama Performance, and Best Design in a Drama Performance.
In 2009, 80 years after the writer’s birth, the Altai region celebrated the Year of Shukshin. Shukshin’s Stories came on tour to the region’s capital, Barnaul. The locals were excited about the performance: long before the premiere, all tickets were sold out at the theatre’s box office. On the performance day, the hall of the Regional Drama Theatre was packed with people: they even sat on the floor and stood in the aisles.
The entire cast rehearsed the play at the author’s homeland, in the village of Srostki. They spent several days outdoors, met with Shukshin’s fellow countrymen, neighbours, and family members, people who were easily recognized in the characters of his stories. The company also visited the places where the writer had grown up. The production photographer and set designer Monica Pormale took hundreds of photos of portraits, everyday life, family scenes, and the nature of the village’s surroundings to use them in performance design. The trip helped the actors learn more about Shukshin and get into character. Actress Chulpan Khamatova said, ‘My trip to Srostki changed my attitude towards the performance altogether.’
