In his first work at the Alexandrinsky Theatre Andrei Prikotenko turns to Ivan Goncharov's novel “Oblomov”.

The novel has not been staged at the theater before, only in 1992 the theater staged a production of Mark Rozovsky's play "Romances with Oblomov" based on Goncharov's work.

The premiere at the New Stage continues a series of works in which Prikotenko explores the "Russian matrix". The novel reveals one of the archetypes of Russian culture; it is not by chance that Oblomov is defined as an "all-Russian type". Goncharov wrote: "...I instinctively felt that little by little the elementary properties of the Russian man were being absorbed into this figure...".

So who is Oblomov? A beautiful-hearted lazy man? A willless dreamer, chained to the sofa by the golden chains of his dream of an idyllic Oblomovka? A philosopher who preaches non-action in the conditions of bad reality? Prikotenko sees in the protagonist Ivan the Fool, a holy fool, a fool whose will is paralyzed by the maximalism of dreams. In Oblomov's position he finds both energy and an active imperative. But the character seems to be stuck in the circumstances of his life, enclosed in them as in a cocoon.

Andrei Prikotenko: "Ilya Ilyich says: I was born with the feeling that my happiness is in the realm of unattainable dreams. His whole being is directed towards the beautiful, absolutely amazing Oblomovka, and at the same time he understands perfectly well that this Oblomovka is like paradise. Not even lost, but simply impossible. We strive for it, but we are doomed from the start never to reach it. And this high idealism paralyzes the human will. And Oblomov's friend, practical Stoltz does not realize that Oblomov's dream is a utopia and tries to convince him that it is necessary to go one step at a time, step by step, and in general the essence of life is in the movement itself, not in the goal. And in this Goncharov's characters differ - Stoltz is in literal motion, while Oblomov, physically willless, possesses the inner energy of movement".

 

The production designer - Olga Shaishmelashvili.

Composer - Evgenia Teryokhina is the author of music for the performance.

Lighting designer - Konstantin Binkin.

 

The premiere is rehearsed by Alexander Polamishev, Ivan Trus, Anna Pozhidaeva, Anastasia Panteleeva, Lyubov Yakovleva, Igor Mosyuk, Andrei Matyukov, Sergei Mardar, Stepan Balakshin.

 Premiere - April 25, 2025