The State Academic Central Puppet Theater named after Sergei Obraztsov finished its tour to Brazil which was part of the International cultural project of the Government of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture of Russia Russian Seasons, aiming at presenting Russian culture abroad. The world’s largest puppet theater, despite its rich touring history, visited distant exotic Brazil for the first time.
The performances held from 2 to 14 July in Sao Paulo at the Sobrevento Theater and the Itau Cultural Center, as well as in many other cities in the state of Sao Paulo: Santo André, Mairiporã, Diadema, São Bernardo do Campo, were, without exaggeration, a huge success.
The program included two solo puppet shows for the chamber stage, created by laureates of the Golden Mask National Theater Award. Circus on Strings staged by the theater’s chief designer, Viktor Antonov, is a flamboyant display of virtuoso tricks and unique puppets created by the show’s author and performer. A romantic, heart-warming, and touching show, filled with warmth, wisdom and light of the most important human experiences – a production by the theater’s principal director Boris Konstantinov based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Snowman and performed by one puppeteer. The performances of The Snowman featured the two casts: with Honored Artists of the Russian Federation Dmitry Chernov and Andrei Nechaev.
All shows were played to full houses. The artists of the legendary Sergei Obraztsov Puppet Theater managed not only to surprise the audience with their skills, but also to truly make both young and older spectators fall in love with their art. The response of the audience was incredibly warm and will be retained in the artists’ memory for a long time.
The shows were held on a charitable basis – admission was free for everyone. Several shows were organized specifically for children from socially disadvantaged families.
The tour program also included master classes and meet-the-artist sessions with spectators, which were also a great success.
The first tour of the Obraztsov Theater to Brazil became a vibrant cultural event for this country. The presented program introduced to Russian culture not only adults, but also very young Brazilian theatergoers. In total, more than 3,500 spectators attended the shows during the tour.
