According to Yuri Bychkov, Melikhovo Spring managing director, quite a few dramatic companies have now shifted their focus "from Chekhov's 'big' works to his vaudevilles and to his inexhaustible fiction." This part of the Chekhov legacy remains largely unexplored by theaters, so the change of focus may boost their creativity and encourage them to produce interesting, innovative shows.
Speaking at a preview press conference Monday, Bychkov said that from the onset, the organizers of Melikhovo Spring had been collaborating closely with Moscow's Maly Theater and that thanks to that collaboration, the festival had become widely popular.
This time around, Melikhovo Spring will bring together dramatic companies from ten cities across Russia, including Zlatoust, Irkutsk and Omsk, as well as from Lvov, in Ukraine, and Osnabruck, in Germany.
May 27 is designated as Children's Day. Companies from Oryol and Istra will show their productions of "Kashtanka" and other short stories comprehensible to young audiences. That day, the Chekhov Museum House is also expected to unveil its children's theatrical studio.
