Shuksin's Stories
By Vasily Shuksin
Category: Theatre/Dance
Genre: Dance
Company:
Theatre of Nations
Venue:
HKAPA- Drama Theatre
Date and Time:
24 Feb, 7pm
25 Feb, 2.30pm
Ticket Price:
200-480
Location:
HK Island
Nearest MTR Station:
Wan Chai
Ticketing By: HK Ticketing
Age Limitation: ---
Based on a selection of stories by Soviet-era cultural phenomenon, Vasily Shukshin (1929-1974), this production was a prize-winner at Russia’s prestigious Golden Mask festival and has been acclaimed in the USA and at many of Europe’s leading international theatre events since its premiere in 2008.
Born into a Siberian peasant background, Vasily Shukshin was a household name in the Soviet Union of the 1960s and early 1970s. An award-winning film director and actor, he also wrote novels, plays, movie scripts and re-invented the short story as a major form in Russian literature.
Portraying people and situations from his own personal experience, Shukshin’s Tales are set in a remote Siberian village caught in transition between rural traditions and modern, urban, Soviet life. His frequently eccentric characters are survivors of revolution, collectivisation and war, seeking their identity in a “brave new world”. Hopelessly out of time and touch, these country folk struggle with questions of life and death, faith and reason, custom and progress. Shukshin describes the gap between their dreams and reality with understanding, warmth, love and humour.
The cast features some of Russia’s most famous theatre names including Theatre of Nations’ Artistic Director, Evgeny Mironov, and Chulpan Khamatova (star of 2003 hit movie, Good Bye Lenin!). Latvian director Alvis Hermanis made his name as founder-director of the National Theatre of Riga, with productions that have achieved critical success worldwide including at the Edinburgh and Avignon festivals. Hermanis’ recent productions include La Traviata for the Salzburg Festival in 2014, starring Plácido Domingo and Anna Netrebko.