US
Bolshoi Puppet Theatre / Russia
“Us” addresses the irrational depths of human inner world –opposing numbers is intrinsic to it. The main subject of the play is thebirth of a soul that does not fi nd a place in the world. The recurringtheme in the play, like in the novel, is the love between D-503 andI-330, which unexpectedly rocks the geometrically balanced andultimately happy world of the hero.The performance is based on the études of students with puppetmechanisms – peculiar rod puppet “study skeletons”. Eventually aplace was found even for the least expressive puppet: it representsthe uniform and expressionless “us” on the stage.
Director: Ruslan Kudašov
Designer: Andrei Zaporožski
Musical Design: Vladimir Bõtškovski, Julia Gladõševa
Light Design: Larissa Novikova, AnnaAleksandrova
The story of ST. PETERSBURG BOLSHOI PUPPET THEATRE started in a small house by Poklonnaya Gora, where one day five friends decided to create their theatre. Three of those friends were actors, one was a musician and the fifth one was an artist. They all had one feature in common – they loved puppet shows. The stage was at first given to them on Volodarsky pr. in Leningrad, in the House of Education of Communist Youth and on May the 16th 1931 the play “Incubator” opened their first season. The theatre moved to the current address on 10, Nekrasova in 1940. In 2006 Ruslan Kudashov became the head of Bolshoi Puppet Theatre. He is the winner of the most prestigious Russian theatre awards: “Golden Sophit” and “Golden Mask”. Season 2010–2011 marks the theatre’s jubilee: on the 16th of May it turns 80.
