Dronov: Valdai for the first time will be part of the theatrical map of the festival Dostoevsky

The 30th Dostoevsky Jubilee Festival will be held from October 29 to November 2 in three cities of the Novgorod land – Veliky Novgorod, Staraya Russa and Valdai. For the first time, the venue of the festival will be Valdai – this expansion of geography emphasizes the richness of cultural traditions of the region, said the Governor of the Novgorod region Alexander Dronov.

Dostoevsky Festival celebrates the 30th anniversary of the expansion of geography: for the first time the performances will be hosted by the ancient city of Valdai. This is an opportunity to present the wealth of the Novgorod land, a region with unique traditions and a special atmosphere, Dronov said.

An important part of the program was the competition “Perspective”: it included five theatrical projects based on Russian classics, the premieres of which are scheduled for 2027. The winner will receive a grant to complete the production and the right to show it at the next festival.

According to General Producer Maxim Korolev, for independent teams, this is a chance to make themselves known, receive expert assessment and financial support, so that the performance could find its audience.

Several bright projects will compete for the award. Among them – the play “Vassa” of the theater “V” in the production of Alexei Vairo (based on the play by Gorky) and “Viy” of the New Art Theater: the director Evgeny Kharlanov reinterprets Gogol’s story in the format of “thriller-balagan”. Three productions are based on the works of Dostoevsky: “Kirillov Day” (the theater “Cynics”, Andrey Dontsov) based on the novel “Demons”, the experimental work “White Nights. Chat” (Maria Milyutin, group M.51+) about the influence of technology on human feelings, and “Poor people” (Anton Ponarovsky, Theater for People) – a reflection on dignity in difficult living conditions.

The projects will be evaluated by an authoritative jury chaired by theater expert, president of the Shchepkin Theatre School Boris Lyubimov. The composition also included the director of the Novgorod Museum-Reserve Sergey Brun, directors Igor Teplov and Sergey Tonyshev, actors Daniil Strakhov and Julia Khlynina.

The main program in Staraya Russa will be presented with four performances. On October 29, the Rusich Culture Center will feature Alla Mitrofanova’s “12 Uncontrived Stories” (based on materials from the magazine “Foma”), and Konstantin Kozhevnikov’s “Notes of a Young Doctor” based on Bulgakov’s stories will be presented at the Dostoevsky House-Museum. On October 31, the Dostoevsky Russian Drama Theatre from Kazakhstan’s Semey will present the play Crime and Punishment directed by Rachi Makhataev. On November 1, the project “By the way, the theater” will show the production of “Three” by Ekaterina Polovtseva – a story that unfolds before and after the events of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters”. Last year, this team has already become the winner of the competition “Perspective”.

In Valdai, performances will be held in the film concert hall “Dream”. On October 30, “Mother Theatre” will present its version of “Kashtanka” in the production of Vladimir Vitan, and on November 1, the audience will see Chekhov’s comedy “The Proposal” in an unusual interpretation of the South Korean director Son Un Jin.