🎭"Uncle Vanya", Elizaveta Boyarskaya and tenderness: how the 26th International Theatre Festival "Melikhovo Spring" opened

Yesterday the Anton Chekhov Museum-Reserve hosted the opening of the "Melikhovo Spring" theatre festival. It will run for 10 days, with companies from 6 countries presenting more than 20 productions by Chekhov and about Chekhov on the festival's stages.

The festival's open-air programme was opened by "Uncle Vanya" from the Maly Drama Theatre – Theatre of Europe, directed by Lev Dodin, with Elizaveta Boyarskaya in one of the leading roles. The production was chosen for good reason. In 2026 Chekhov's famous play "Uncle Vanya", written at Melikhovo in 1896, turns 130.

Lev Dodin, People's Artist of Russia, director and artistic director of the Maly Drama Theatre – Theatre of Europe:
"Here the very air smells of freshness and tenderness. And something happens to the actors. As though Chekhov were vibrating in their souls. These are not fine words; we prepare for this. And we are here, touch wood, happy.
I am delighted by the way Melikhovo is developing. I was here in the 1990s, when we wanted to rehearse "The Cherry Orchard", and it was hard to work here. The way the estate has been transformed is wonderful; it is a contribution to world culture."

🔗 Detailed information about the festival is here