Uncle's Dream
Comedy in two acts after Fyodor Dostoyevsky's story
Opening - 27.11.2010. (Big Auditorium)
Duration - 3 h 15 min
Creative team:
Director
Mikhail Bychkov
Set Designer
Yury Galperin
Costumes Designer
Yury Galperin
Light Designer
Gidal Shugayev
Staging
Mikhail Bychkov
“Uncle's Dream" is the first of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s creative works, which was brought to stage, and it happened back in 1878. Since then, the story has been repeatedly staged in different versions, and in 1966 it was screened.
The events unfold in a small town full of brides of marriageable age – and around of an ever actual topic of a successful marriage. In this quiet place a prince appears; he is very rich and very old. From the standpoint of Maria Alexandrovna Moskaleva, "the first lady" of the town, this is a very suitable match for her daughter Zina. But Zina is a girl of "hard romanticism" and "severe nobility," and therefore she objects. But Maria Alexandrovna does not give up, and the prince is enchanted by this bride, and the prospects drawn to Zina looks most tempting, but then the mothers of other brides enter the “battlefield”, as well as the prince’s distant relative by name of Pavel Alexandrovich Mozglyakov…
A “stage on the stage” has been created – characters come out on podium from the red velvet curtain, decorated with gilded angel heads. There is a whole system of small windows, screens, curtains and movable walls, where the activity takes place and where characters hide during the play. Like a puppet theater or commedia dell’arte. Costumes play a huge role in the production, but the action at times reminds of the marionette theater.
Lebedeva N. “Uncle’s Dream” with Pierrot and Columbine // Vesti Segodnya
Dostoyevsky always remains Dostoyevsky: he in paradoxical form combines the twisted intrigues of comedy and vaudeville with a clear, interesting and deep story outline. Characters of the play not only face different comic situations, they live a saturated, emotionally vivid life. We laugh not so much about the comicality of events, but about how the collision of human’s objectives, intentions and actions sharply and even extravagantly reveal the nature of the characters.
M. Bychkov in A. Ruzhanskaja’s article
“Bychkov versus Dostoevsky: in search for depth” // Chas
The first thing that comes to mind before the start of the action - this is a theatre in theatre, eccentricity, grotesque. Sometimes very funny, at times - threatening. Scenography is active and aggressive, even in coloring (base color - red). Everything is functional, operates, has a purpose and meaning. Bright and laconic costumes relate with aesthetics of commedia dell’arte and with aesthetics of middle age knight’s castle, and at the same time also with modern fashion.
Morozova N. Dostoyevsky's “Uncle's Dream” has become a real phantasmagoria // Telegraf
HOUSE MANAGERS:
Ticket reservation, group tickets,
information on the cancelled and postponed performances:
Phone: +371 20 37 25 13; +371 67 22 53 95
administracija@mct.lv
The photos from the homepage may be used only with the theatre's written permission.
©MIKHAIL CHEKHOV RIGA RUSSIAN THEATRE
