The premiere of the play based on the work of A.S. Pushkin “The Tale of the Priest and His Worker Balda” took place at the Institute of International Education.

The Postscriptum international theater celebrated A.S. Pushkin’s 225th anniversary with the premiere of the play based on the work of the great poet “The Tale of the Priest and His Worker Balda,” which took place on May 31 in the Small Concert Hall of RTU MIREA. A fairy tale known to everyone since childhood, presented in the form of a one-act comedy, plunged the audience into the atmosphere of ancient market festivities with the buffoonery and humor, laughter and joy, traditions and customs of the Russian people.

The performance began with a dialogue between A.S. Pushkin and the little devil about the nature of greed. The character, who had to lift a horse and run around the hall in a race with a stuffed hare, read a poem of his own composition (Yuri Gubkin, group BSBO-13-22).

Several new characters were introduced into the familiar storyline. On stage, buffoons danced and played hooligans, peddlers traded matter-of-factly, the wedding general and the matchmaker tried to marry off the priest who took fancy to Balda, and the inhabitants of the seabed beat each other with a dried roach, went on dates and ate gummy worms. This solution by the screenwriter added excitement, modern humor and novelty to the old fairy tale. The images of the characters turned out to be extraordinary and holistic. The priest from the usual miser and greedy old man turned into a caring and kind father, and Balda became a brave and loving young man.

Zh.O. Moskvina, stage director, associate professor of the department of the Russian language (as a foreign language), managed to come up with a simple and original stage and graphic design, and Maria Loiko, the troupe’s sound engineer, student of the KVBO-02-21 group, managed to select a successful musical accompaniment for the production. The famous hits of  the Soviet cinema and modern animated films sounded all through the performance.

The wonderful acting of the stage company members was impressive. The characters did not just express themselves in Pushkin’s poems: they literally took notice of every word of the poet and played on it. Enthusiasm, grotesque facial expressions, superbly choreographed dances and well-practiced movements of the actors – all this made the performance incredibly interesting, funny and touching.