Thirteen, or The Lucky Number for the Fifth International Theater Festival in Yalta

“Baker’s dozen” of diverse creative teams who presented a vast range of theatrical genres is the special feature of the festival that is taking place in the Crimean land.

“In a week time I got acquainted with a wide range of theater art and this provides food for thought for the whole year ahead,” said Yurii RYBCHYNSKY, well-known poet and playwright, head of the jury of the festival “Theater. Chekhov. Yalta.” “The peculiarity of the forum is that with each year its artistic palette becomes more and more diverse: drama, plastic art, ballet, opera. This year I saw a brilliant performance of the Crimean Puppet Theater ‘Kashtanka’ (team from Simferopol received the prize ‘For High Directoral Skill and Poetic Character of the Performance’). I am glad that the Yalta Festival is a living organism that evolves.”

“This is probably the only festival that awards prizes, but there is no competition,” said Valentina FEDOROVA, theater critic from Moscow, member of the jury. “There was no biases or pathos at the festival. Today I learned about rather interesting theater groups: Ulianovsk Youth Theater ‘Small Theater’ (their performance Primates based on the stories by Arkadii Averchenko, Nadezhda Teffi, and Arkadii Bukhov won the Grand Prix and the special prize ‘For the Original Director’s Approach and Bright Actors Cast’); Kharkiv Creative Association ‘Kapela’ (prize ‘For Talented Staging of the Novel by Vladimir Nabokov’); Makhmudzhan Vakhidov Tajik Youth Theater (prize ‘For Bright Implementation of the Classic National Epic by Means of Modern Stage Facilities’).”

In Yalta theater troops become friends. The festival allows you to see what is happening today in the theatrical life, take something new and interesting for yourself, and share your experience with others. For example, the veteran of the festival – Moldova Youth Drama Thater “From the Streets of Roses” brings pure pleasure to the audience with its outstanding performances. It is great that Chekhov’s writing was presented at this festival. The performance of the Theater of Rains from Saint Petersburg Uncle Vanya was presented in the best traditions. Kashtanka staged by the Crimean Puppet Theater captured both adult and young theater fans. The audience was also impressed by Pygmalion staged by Vadym Elizarov Sevastopol Dance Theater.

Serhii KOVALIOV, professor of the Institute of Slavic Studies at Maria Curie-Sklodowska Lublin University stressed: “As a rule, theaters come to a festival for a day or two, stage their performance and leave. In Yalta all the participants could stay to the end, watch the plays staged by their colleagues, discuss them with one another and with theater critics. It gives a lot for the professionals, and every theater fan could find something to his liking in the festival’s program.”

The organizers of the forum think that it is important that Yalta becomes a center of theater art. Tourists started coming into town specifically for the festival to combine recreation with intellectual pleasure.