Chekhov. Vaudevilles. Premiere!
«Chekhov. Vaudevilles» - even the title itself holds a contradiction: the wise, subtly perceptive Anton Pavlovich - and suddenly, vaudevilles? Yet it is precisely this clash of tragic content and comic form that creates the unique energy of the new production by director Rachi Makhataev and the Fyodor Dostoevsky Russian Drama Theatre.
The play is based on some of Chekhov’s lesser-known works, which makes watching the characters and their actions even more intriguing - actions that provoke the very paradoxical Chekhovian laughter, always tinged with human sorrow beneath it.
Following Chekhov’s tradition, the creators of the performance raise serious themes such as the loss of life's meaning and the absurdity of existence, yet, like the writer himself, they do so lightly and effortlessly - for on this stage, it’s vaudeville, where music and dance sometimes speak louder than words.
