The first puppet theaters appeared in ancient Greece. In our country, they became known to the general public in the 18th century and initially gave performances right on the street. Only during the years of Soviet power in some cities of Russia appeared "doll" houses. In Penza, such a theater began to operate during the Great Patriotic War. This success will tell about what successes his team has achieved, about the troupe and the most famous performances.
History
It would seem that war is not the best time to found a theater. However, at the height of the Second World War, namely at the end of the harsh for our country of 1942, enthusiastic actors M. Kalakin and Y. Kusakin initiated the organization of a puppet brigade at the defense miniature theater. The premiere performance took place in the lecture hall, which was then located on Belinsky Street. Six months later, the "birth" of a new cultural institution was confirmed by an official decree. According to this document, the Penza Regional Puppet Theater was established in the city. Until 1991, he changed several addresses along Moskovskaya Street. Only in the last months of the Soviet Union’s existence the theater was transferred to the former building of the Pervomaisky district committee of the CPSU, located at 35 Chkalova Street. Today, this residence is known to both young and adult residents of the city as the “Doll House”, and there are always full houses on weekends.
Theater troupe
Over the years, many wonderful actors who are enthusiasts in their field have worked in Penza's Dollhouse. Today his troupe includes:
- Marina Proshlakova;
- Olga Shnitko;
- Valery Kartashov;
- Anton Nekrasov;
- Ruslanbek Dzhurabekov;
- Dmitry King
- Anastasia Poklonova;
- Nadezhda Chervonnaya.
The artistic director of the theater is Vladimir Biryukov, whose productions have won the approval of the jury of many famous festivals.
Achievements
In recent years, the theater took part in 9 international and 11 national festivals in the Netherlands, Turkey, Hungary and Poland.
In 1999, the performance "The Rusal Fairy Tale", staged by Vladimir Biryukov, received the Grand Prix at the international festival in the Hungarian city of Bekeshchabo. Three years later, the director repeated his success. This time, the play "Winter's Tale" was awarded the first prize of the international festival in the Polish city of Toru. In 2003, the same production won the nomination "Best Artist", becoming the laureate of the national theater prize "Golden Mask". This prestigious prize was awarded to the theater in 2005, this time for the play "Forgotten Tale".
Repertoire
The "Doll House" in Penza constantly pleases the audience with new productions. The theater has an extensive repertoire for every taste. It includes performances for both the smallest and for preschool children, primary school students and adolescents.
The little ones who can barely speak will really like the new interpretations of the famous fairy tales “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Golden Chicken”, “Winnie the Pooh”, “Little Raccoon”, etc.
Children of kindergarten age will surely enjoy the production of plays based on the tales of The Ugly Duckling, The Enchanted Boar, The Tale of the Rain, and others, and the theater offers the performances The Rusal Tale, The Little Mermaid, The Forgotten Tale, and schoolchildren. etc.
The “Doll House” in Penza decided to break the stereotype that its audience is children. For adult viewers, the theater prepared an equally interesting repertoire. It includes the performances "The doctor involuntarily" based on the play by Moliere, "The Bear" (A.P. Chekhov), "The Parrot and Brooms" (N. Kolyada), etc.
Performances
Dolls for the puppet theater in Penza are handmade. The artists Alexander Bulgakov and Svetlana Norkina are working on their creation. Even despite certain difficulties associated with the closure of the theater’s workshops, they continue to make puppets for the puppet theater in Penza, which become equal members of the troupe. According to the artistic director Vladimir Biryukov, each character has several doubles. This means that the masters make 2-4 copies of the doll, giving them different poses. This solution allows you to make performances more dynamic, reviving the "actors" from papier-mâché, wood, plexiglass and other materials.
The theater uses dolls of various types: from gloves to puppets. This allows for performances in different genres. "Actors", not involved in the play, are shown in the lobby, so after completing the performance it can be difficult for kids to get out of the theater.
"Parrot and Brooms"
This play based on the play by N. Kolyada is intended for an adult audience and was presented to the audience last fall. It is dedicated to the topic of "survival" in the nineties of the last century and makes the viewer of older and middle age mentally go back to the times of gangster lawlessness and disappointment in everyone and everything.
The heroes of the play are two women who sell anything at all in the bazaar, the husband of one of them and the unfortunate parrot who demands vodka, hoping to keep warm. Trains to a new life are passing by these characters, who are literally on the sidelines. And only they, fettered by the fear of "not surviving", do not even understand the whole tragedy of what is happening to them.
The performance received many positive reviews from critics and was included in the program of several festivals, including the "Obraztsofest". In addition, this production of director Vladimir Biryukov was presented in all categories of the Golden Mask 2018 national theater award.
Reviews
The poster in Penza, reporting on the new production of "Doll House", never goes unnoticed.
The reviews of the audience indicate that the theater has a large army of loyal fans. They relate not only to performances, but also to traditional New Year's “Christmas trees”. Many viewers note that such performances are the best in the city and recommend that everyone take their kids to them. In their reviews, parents describe how enthusiastically their kids come to Chkalova Street, where they will meet a fairy tale.
As for the shortcomings, the fans of the "Doll House" in Penza attribute them only to the lack of a big stage, since the existing venue is not suitable for "adult" performances.
How to get there
The city theater poster in Penza always contains information on children's events, including performances of the local puppet theater. It is recommended to watch them not only to residents of Penza, but also to guests.
As already mentioned, the theater is located at ul. Chkalova, 35. Young theater-goers and their parents can get there by buses No. 30, 130. Get off at the Kuibyshev St. stop and walk a few meters to a large brick building in a modern style, on the facade of which is written in large letters Theater.
Children's performances begin at 10:30 or at 12:00, and performances for adults - at 18:30.
The Puppet House Theater in Penza, the poster of which always attracts the attention of both adults and children, is waiting for everyone who wants to give their kids a holiday and to introduce them to real art from childhood.