This year 14 theatres from Russia and other countries are taking part in the annual International Theatre Festival "Melikhov Spring". The festival starts on 20 May and will last until 29 May at Chekhov's Melikhovo estate near Moscow, where the writer lived from 1892 to 1899. The festival is organised by the Melikhovo Museum-Reserve with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Moscow Region.
The 2022 festival poster includes theatres from Moscow and the Moscow Region, Perm and the Perm Territory, the Irkutsk Region, Kostroma, Lipetsk, Tula, Tambov, Lugansk and Armenia.
When forming the festival's playbill, preference was given to productions that can be transformed for plein air performances in the natural scenery of the Chekhov estate. In addition to the veranda of the Chekhov family's main house - the main venue of the festival - plays will be performed in the museum theatre hut and on the stage of the Serpukhov Musical Drama Theatre.
Traditionally, professional theatres and creative teams have been invited to participate in the festival with performances based on Chekhov's works or about him. In addition, each year the festival includes a special programme called "Visiting Chekhov" dedicated to another author. For example, the 2022 festival will feature performances based on the works of F.M. Dostoevsky, whose 200th anniversary the world celebrated last year.
The festival organisers have also prepared an extensive programme of additional festival events. On 21 May the audience will be treated to the concert programme PROZRENIE performed by tenor Oleg Krikun and pianist Alexei Goribol, on 22 May the Melikhovo Children's Musical Theatre with the participation of the newly established Melikhovo Children's Symphony Orchestra will present the performance Zerkalo (Mirror) based on works by Chekhov and Taffy, and on 24 May there will be a traditional evening in memory of Oleg Efremov, which will be attended by students and graduates of the master's courses of different years.
As part of the main programme of Melikhov Spring 2022, the Tula Academic Drama Theatre, the Kostroma State Drama Theatre named after A.N. Ostrovsky, the Tambov Youth Theatre, the Pavel Luspekaev Lugansk Academic Russian Drama Theatre, the Ust-Ilimsk Drama and Comedy Theatre, the Lipetsk Academic Drama Theatre named after L. N. Tolstoy, a regular participant of the festival, will present their performances.Tolstoy, Perm groups - the theatre "U Most" and "Youth Studio-Theatre "Dominant" from the town of Gubakha, Moscow theatres - "School of Dramatic Art" and Independent Theatre Project of GITIS graduates (workshop of Professor A.V. Galibin, People's Artist of Russia). The Dmitrov Drama Theatre, the Serpukhov Musical Drama Theatre and the Chekhov Studio Theatre of the Melikhovo Museum-Reserve will represent the Moscow Region at the festival.
As is well known, Chekhov's name is inextricably linked with the Moscow region. Anton Pavlovich lived and created more than 40 of his works in the village of Melikhovo near Moscow. The programme of the Melikhovo Spring Festival, which originated in the writer's estate at the end of the 20th century, includes not only classical productions, but also chamber plays, large-scale dramatisations and avant-garde versions. Every year the festival is visited by several thousand spectators, primarily residents of Moscow and Moscow suburbs.
Acceptance of applications for participation in the festival ended in January. Even during the pandemic time, interest in the festival did not wane - the museum received more than forty applications from Russian and foreign theatres. The festival's Expert Council selected more than fifteen productions for the festival's final poster.
