Alcohol, love and madness: the solo performance “Goat Song” revealed the fate of the intelligentsia of the 1920s

St. Petersburg “Workshop” presented on the big stage of the Pskov drama theater the play “Goat Song” based on the novel of the same name by Konstantin Vaginov on October 16. The show took place within the framework of the All-Russian festival of single performances “Alone with everyone”.

Presented before the Pskovites their countrywoman, actress Arina Lykova was not just a performer, but also the author of the idea, staging, director. The performance reflected her personal view of the undeservedly forgotten masterpiece of Leningrad prose of the 1920s. Konstantin Vagin in his work captured two different fates of culture of that time through the life choices of the main characters - the philosopher Teptelkin and the Unknown poet.

A century ago, the author raised bold topics that have received a new round of relevance today. Is it possible to ban culture and its “carriers”, that there is a revolution and war for the people, including the intelligentsia, who lived on the “last island of the Renaissance” and what meanings really make sense – all these and other questions were answered by the viewer during the immersion in the play with a truly St. Petersburg atmosphere.

Timed to the 120th anniversary of the Pskov Theatre, the All-Russian Festival of Single Performances “Alone with All” is held for the first time in Pskov from September to December 2026. The audience has already seen the performance-concert of Alexandra Ursuliak “Good songs” and the play of Andrei Yakovlev “Save the camcorder-juncker Pushkin”.