Puppet Theater Bolshoy, St. Petersburg, st. Nekrasov, 10. Performances, reviews

The Bolshoi Puppet Theater (SPb) is considered to be the oldest in Russia. It was founded on May 16, 1931. It was then that the audience saw the first play called "The Incubator".

History

It began in a small house on Poklonnaya Hill. Once five friends, among whom were three actors, decided to create their own theater. They were artists N. Komin, A. Gak and A. Gumilev, artist V. Komin and musician M. Apothekar, who were simply in love with the magic art created with the help of dolls. At first they were sheltered in the House of Communist Children's Education in Smolninsky District, located on Volodarsky Avenue. Gradually, the theater for children grew, uniting talented actors around and gaining strength. In 1939, the institution, which was then called the Second Leningrad, received the status of state. A year later, it moved to a building on Nekrasov Street, 10. The Bolshoi Puppet Theater, whose address has not changed since then, is now located in the former Burtsev income house, built before the revolution by the architect Volodikhin.

Development

From 1932 to 1948, the Bolshoi Theater of puppets was headed by Meyerhold's pupil, a graduate of the School of Russian Drama, Saveliy Shapiro. With the advent of this director and reviewer, a professional era has already begun. The repertoire included not only productions devoted to contemporary themes, but also dramatizations from Russian and foreign classics, reconstructed for children's perception. The most significant works of S. Shapiro were "Kashtanka" (1935 and 1945), "Bevronsky meadow" (1937), as well as "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp" (1940) and "The Scarlet Flower", delivered after The end of the war.

Heavy years

The Great Patriotic War was a great test for all Leningraders. He divided the fate of the blockade and this theater for children. On the truck, in a body built in its own strength, the collective through Ladoga brought the surviving actors and all the dolls to distant Siberia. Here he performed not only with performances intended for children, but also with satirical performances for a more adult population. To play it was necessary in hospitals and in hangars of airdromes, on factories and on the ships. Twice the theater of dolls Big has visited and in native blockade Leningrad. Under fire, the actors traveled to Kronstadt to speak to the sailors.

After the war

The Puppet Theater Bolshoi was one of the first to return to Leningrad from evacuation, opening the post-war season with the "Scarlet Flower". It was already an established creative team, having a clear aesthetic program and a highly professional troupe. The names of the leading actors - Alperovich, Kiseleva, Kukushkin, Korzakov brothers - went down in history. The era of Shapiro, who died in 1948, completed the poetic play "The Tale of Lebedinets-City." Since 1949 the Bolshoi Theater has been headed by Mikhail Korolyov. His most famous works for children were "The Tale of Tsar Saltan", "Wild Swans", "Ruslan and Lyudmila", "Burning Sails", "Ivan the Peasant Son" and "Thumbelina", and "The Humpbacked Horse". Since 1954, the Bolshoi Theater has included in its repertoire and dramatizations for adults.

Performances

In 1957, for the first time in our country, adult prose was staged on the puppet stage. Performances "12 chairs", "Golden calf" were awarded diplomas of the 1 st degree. In 1958, the theater received a bronze medal "For Dolls" in Brussels. The play "The Lovely Galatea" by S. Darvas and B. Gador has over a thousand performances on his account. In 1959, Korolev established the very first department of the puppet theater, which educated a galaxy of talented filmmakers and professional puppeteers.

From 1965 to 1986 the Bolshoi Theater was headed by Viktor Sudarushkin. Many great achievements are connected with the name of this director. He was the youngest art director in the USSR - he was only twenty-eight years old. The most significant works of Sudarushkin were the "Elephant" by Kipling, "Unknown with the tail" and "Malchish-Kibalchish", and from the adult repertoire - "Nesusvetnaya comedy", "The Adventures of the Brave Soldier Svejk", "Love, Love ...", "Bug" "Before the third cocks" Shukshin, "Alien in Rome" by Zoshchenko.

After the death of this talented director, the theater was headed by Vladimir Maslov, Academician A. Belinsky, V. Bogach, Alla Polukhina, a student of Tovstonogov. The latter staged many children's classics such as Lisenok, Bluebird, Nightingale, Three Little Pigs, etc. Unfortunately, the adult repertoire that the Bolshoi Puppet Theater (St. Petersburg) was so proud of was lost.

Today

Since 2006, the main director is Ruslan Kudashov - the director and professional actor, who created "Potudan" in his time. He is known for his works not only in our country. In 2005, the Bolshoi Puppet Theater showed the premiere - the play "Viy" in the production of Kudashov, thereby restoring the tradition of having on its stage a repertoire designed for adults. For several years BTK has visited many countries, where it was awarded the highest awards. In the same 2006, he, along with the St. Petersburg State Academy of Theater Arts, announced the creation of a studio course, from which artists of the puppet theater were released. This workshop exists to this day, and its performances enrich the adult repertoire, which at one time lost the Great Puppet Theater.

Poster

In addition to the student productions, you can see the adult work of many directors: Kholodomer Kudashov, Toibele and her demon Bysgu, 100 shades of blue by Tumina, etc. The playbill of the theater includes many new names for children, for example, "The Little Prince "," The Nutcracker, or the Christmas visions of Marie Stahlbaum "," The Big Jelly Journey "," The Tale for the Naughty Bears ", etc. Currently, there are twenty-two performances for young spectators and nine for adults.

I must say that tickets have different costs. For children's productions you need to pay from twenty to four hundred and fifty, and for adults - up to a thousand five hundred rubles, depending on the place chosen in the auditorium.

Reviews

All those who were lucky enough to visit the Bolshoi Puppet Theater, all agree that everything was so interesting, that young children still feel emotions when they talk about performances. Almost all the productions are made at the highest level. Especially impressive is the conversation between the actors and the audience, which takes place in the language of the hands. Many viewers say that they were simply shocked by how a person can have such plasticity. Each number in the play is a separate work of art. Almost everything, children and adults, judging by the reviews, receive a huge portion of positive, so they come to the Great Puppet Theater more than once. A cozy compact hall and soft armchairs create a warm home atmosphere.

Many reviews and the work of the director. Most consider him very talented, and his findings and decisions are amazing, making even small ones smile.

Spectators do not cease to admire and actors, especially their ability to change their voices. The same talented puppeteer can sound both a small chanterelle and a huge evil monster. And his clever fingers allow you to revive the smiles on the faces of fairy-tale characters and on the lovely muzzles of forest animals.

Colorful costumes, professional music accompaniment and, of course, the amazing skill of the artists allow viewers to immerse themselves in the wonderful world of the theater for a short time of the play and forget about the problems. Many of those who visited the BTC in St. Petersburg, strongly recommend visiting it to everyone who has not been here yet.