On May 28th, the premiere of the performance "How Peter the Great ..." was held by the VAS theatre – the Voronezh street theatre created at the initiative of the Platonov Arts Festival. The very first performance of the young team was included in the regional programme of the celebration of the 350th anniversary of the birth of Peter the Great.
On Lenin Square, the VAS theatre presented its first performance. Comic and lyrical action, performed in the traditions of the Russian street carnival theatre, was staged by Anna Shishkina – the artistic director of the St. Petersburg "Mr. Pejo's wandering dolls" theatre. The aesthetics of the Russian lubok prevails in the design of the scenery and the stories from the life of the first Russian emperor are told by jokers. Peter the Great became the main character of the debut performance of the VAS theatre. Historical facts, legends and fables associated with the emperor are turned into playful and fantastic plots.
Fascinating the audience with the plot, surprising them with the abundance and variety of technical secrets concealed in the scenery, the artists demonstrated the entire arsenal of their skills acquired in the street theatre laboratory and trained at daily rehearsals during several months of work. Among these skills are the work with a mask, mastering stilts and jumpers and interaction with the spectators.
We expect that the background created by the Platonov Arts Festival and the "Mr. Pejo's wandering dolls" theatre would help to set the bar high and remain not only the first, but also the leading professional street theatre in Voronezh.
Another showing of the performance "How Peter the Great ..." will be held on May 29th at 2 p.m. in the "Dolphin" park, where at 5 p.m. the VAS theatre will also present a promenade version of the performance. On June 4th and June 7th, the artists will participate in the Carnival in Gelendzhik, and then in the autumn they will take part in the Platonov Art Festival.