Pinocchio
Theatre

Boris Yukhananov's production of Pinocchio continues the mythological, fairy-tale line of works begun in his productions of The Blue Bird and Drillalians. At the heart of the mystery is Carlo Collodi's fairy tale The Adventures of Pinocchio, which the project authors have transformed into "Pino-mythology." 

The theatre's entire troupe is engaged in the project, the main role of which – Pinocchio undergoing metamorphosis – is performed by two young actresses, Maria Belyaeva and Svetlana Naidyonova. The hero's multiple nature offers a unique interpretation of a twin myth. Pinocchio is surrounded by commentators – both a dramatic and an active chorus that, so to speak, siphon the text through themselves. The Electrotheatre's chorus and the dancers also perform. This all comes together in a large, working space.

An important aspect of the Pinocchio. Theatre segment is the commedia dell' arte, which redefines the dell' arte tradition that is associated with Meyerhold and Vakhtangov in Russian history. Dell' arte is actually a crude style, based on the limitless freedom that a man has in engaging society's underbelly, and on very clear, simple desires. At the same time, paradoxically, this is what is left us of the ancient mysterial theatre, from the Eleusinian mysteries. Specially for this purpose, over the course of a year, the company's young members trained under Alessio Nardin, a guest master from Italy, who received his expertise from the hands of Ferrusi Soleri. Masks for these characters were made in Venice.

Pinocchio is the space of a life-affirming street theatre, but also a temple of Pinomythology that stands on this street.

Boris Yukhananov: “Each performance takes for itself a name or aspect; and once again seeks its place in cultural history or context. In this sense, Pinocchio, of course, exists on the fringes, on one hand continuing our series of fairy tales (The Blue Bird and Drillalians), on the other hand, engaging literally with all known fairy tales, while doing something unexpected with them. In principle, new-processual art offers theatre a new territory - one in which one can create one's own myth. A place where you can create your own world. Where you can watch other people do it. It is a world that is not separate from reality, but does not obey it. In this new territory, we embark on a journey that takes us out of the world, as it keeps us with it. We move to another universe filled with both fantastic and real things.”