As part of the 15th International Platonov Arts Festival, performances of the play Flower on Earth were staged. This production comes from the independent theatre project The Society of Lovers of a Narrow-Gauge Steam Locomotive. The director is Irina Krivorukova.
By turning to Andrei Platonov’s prose, the creators of the production carefully preserved its principal tone — quiet, attentive, humane. At the center of the production is Platonov’s world, where ordinary things become filled with deep meaning, and a conversation about land, life, memory, and love becomes a conversation about what matters most.
Flower on Earth is a play in which Platonov’s ability to see the large in the small is especially felt. The independent project The Society of Lovers of a Narrow-Gauge Steam Locomotive presented work that is chamber in form but profound in content. It contains no external loudness — its strength lies in the precision of intonation, in a trusting conversation with the audience, and in a careful approach to Platonov’s words.
The performances were among the events of the Platonov program at the festival, which continues an important dialogue with the writer’s legacy. Flower on the Earth reminded viewers that Andrei Platonov’s texts still sound contemporary — subtle, piercing, and surprisingly close to anyone willing to listen.
Irina Krivorukova, director of the production:
«I think Platonov is super-contemporary — there is postmodernism in him, and metamodernism… He’s on trend, to put it crudely. He pushes any artist toward a non-simple, non-trivial expression of a complex world. Our manifesto is to prove to everyone that Andrei Platonov is neither boring nor difficult.»