"You have a very warm audience": Luhansk Theatre staged its first performances in Tatarstan

      A theater from the LPR will perform plays in Kazan, Zelenodolsk, Naberezhnye Chelny and Nizhnekamsk

      The Luhansk theater came on tour to Tatarstan

      The Luhansk Academic Music and Drama Theater named after M. Golubovich set off on a touring tour of Tatarstan. From September 7 to 13 the company will perform in various cities of the republic.

      On September 7 the program opened at the Kazan cultural center "Saidash". The next day the theater staged a play on the stage of the Academic Russian Bolshoi Drama Theater named after V.I. Kachalov. Today, September 9, the troupe is performing again on that stage.

      The tour will continue in Zelenodolsk on September 10, in Naberezhnye Chelny on September 11 and 12, and in Nizhnekamsk on September 13. After that the theater will continue performing in cities of other regions — in Samara, Saratov and Vladimir.

      The tour is part of the All-Russian tour-and-concert plan of the Ministry of Culture of Russia. This program brings together theaters and creative collectives from across the country; its main mission is to make art accessible even to the most remote towns. Since 2022 ensembles from new regions have been included in the plan, and last year more than 1,900 performances and hundreds of concerts took place across the country.

      "Ensembles from the new regions actively and very successfully participate in the All-Russian tour-and-concert plan, winning the love of audiences and recognition from the professional community, and the arrival of renowned theaters and well-known groups becomes a landmark event that gives a powerful impetus to the development of regional culture," earlier noted Russia's Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova.

      "The theater did not stop working even under shelling in 2014"

      The Luhansk Academic Music and Drama Theater named after M. Golubovich was founded in 1941. Today the theater's repertoire includes dramas, comedies, musicals, rock operas, dramatizations of literary works and films. The company includes People's and Merited Artists of Ukraine and the LPR, as well as young actors.

      In 2014, despite active hostilities and shelling of the LPR by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the theater continued to rehearse and stage performances, its director Vitaliy Baldzhi told Tatar-inform.

      "The hardest time was 2014, when the troupe split. Some artists left for 'that Ukraine,' and a small core remained with us. Later talented young people joined us, and little by little, over the course of a year, we rebuilt the troupe. But we never stopped working. In July, when the phase was the hottest, we performed daytime shows. Because after three in the afternoon the city simply died down," he shared.

      The theater's repertoire includes about ten plays about the Great Patriotic War. According to the agency's interlocutor, they did not remove these plays from the repertoire at that time: "We preserve these traditions!" Real explosions were heard in the streets, while at the same time the sound effects of military guns were heard on the recording during the performance.

      Baldzhi also noted that since Russia took the region under its care, the situation there has changed markedly for the better. Among other things, the country provides support to the theater.

      "Support from the Russian Federation was felt from the first days: humanitarian aid — with its help we survived, because there was nothing in our stores. Then serious investments began from Rosconcert and the Russian Ministry of Culture: equipment, lighting, sound — the material and technical base was replenished very substantially," concluded the director of the Luhansk theater.

      Today the Golubovich Theater participates in the All-Russian tour-and-concert plan and performs in various regions of the country. Next year the building where it is located is scheduled for major renovation.

      "The visit may mark the beginning of a long and fruitful friendship"

      The Luhansk theater brought three productions to Tatarstan, aimed at audiences aged 12 and up.

      "This trip for our theater is not only an opportunity to show our work to a new audience, but also a chance to strengthen creative ties and establish friendly relations with the theater community of the republic. We eagerly await meetings with colleagues and audiences. We hope that this visit will be the beginning of a long and fruitful friendship," the tour announcement says.

      The musical comedy "The Women's Uprising" will transport the viewer to a Cossack stanitsa on the wide expanses of the Quiet Don. The women of the khutor decide to rise up against the usual order, and even the staid Cossacks find themselves helpless before their determination. The production combines musical numbers, choreographic and dynamic mass scenes featuring the theater's actors and ballet performers.

      The rock opera "Crucified Youth" tells the story of the underground youth organization "Young Guard" through the eyes of contemporary youth. Through music, light and movement, the play shows the heroism of teenagers who stand up to the fascist regime. The production combines the aggressive melodies of war with lyrical moments, creating a special impression of the bravery and self-sacrifice of the young heroes.

      The musical tale "I Love You, Squadron!" will take viewers to front-line airfields where three combat friends vow not to fall in love until the end of the war. But circumstances put their friendship to the test.

      "The play 'I Love You, Squadron!' has been in our repertoire for seven years and is rightfully considered one of the theater's calling cards. This production has already been seen by audiences in many Russian cities. It is especially valuable to us that, despite all the difficulties, we can share our art with responsive audiences like those in Kazan," Vitaliy Baldzhi said after the premiere in Tatarstan.

      "There are very theatrical audiences in Tatarstan"

      The Luhansk theater has already performed its first shows in Kazan. With a welcoming speech before one of the premieres in the capital of Tatarstan, the republic's Minister of Culture Irada Ayupova addressed the audience.

      "Tatarstan has almost everything, except a musical-drama theater by its nature. And today we have the opportunity to see a production by our colleagues from Luhansk, which in such a subtle form proves to us all that there is always a place and time for life and for love," the minister emphasized.

      Theater director Vitaliy Baldzhi thanked the people of Kazan for their hospitality and stressed that the tour became possible thanks to the support of Rosconcert, and the Ministries of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan.

      "The audience in Tatarstan is very theatrical, spoiled in a good sense, warm. I had not visited your republic before. What did I like the most? Everything! We saw the city, several theaters. Today, for example, we toured the Kamal Theater; they showed us four stages and the equipment. What can I say — one can only envy such a building!" the interlocutor of Tatar-inform summed up.

      Photo: © Chulpan Shakirova / Tatar-inform