based on 9 chapters of The Brothers Karamazov
Stage adaptation and direction Sergey ZHENOVACH
Set design Maria UTROBINA
Lighting design Evgeny VINOGRADOV
The Boys is a particular line in the novel of Dostoevsky The Brothers Karamazov. The schoolboys make their way from ruthless tormenting of their schoolmate Ilyusha Snegiryov to truly Christian compassion. Insolent boys become witnesses of terrible events in Snegiryov family – the illness and death of the child. However the performance still gives light and hope. The Boys is one of the most well-known performances of The Theatre Art Studio. It took part in many Russian and international festivals including The Golden Mask and VI Chekhov International Theatre Festival.
In October 2010 there was the US premiere of “The Theatre Art Studio”. Firstly production “The Boys” was presented in New York, at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, then it took part in Ringling International Art Festival in Sarasota (Florida).
Sergey Zhenovach comments on the production development:
“… For me there was an impulse while working on the production – a trip to Staraya Russa. It used to be sort of a prototype for the setting in “The Brothers Karamazov”. I was walking round the town, it had just stopped to rain, there were puddles on the roads. Suddenly I saw a bunch of 9-12 year-old boys walking towards me. They were walking in a row holding each other’s shoulders, going round the puddles without breaking the row, without breaking their boyish brotherhood. And I realized at once the way “The Boys” should be created. I sat down and wrote the composition in a few weeks. The hook was there: the boys should be on the stage all the time so that we could see the changes with our own eyes, so that they could evolve from hatred to love”.
“This clever performance оf great quality proves оnсе and for аll, that the Russian theatre tradition remains оnе оf the best in the world”. “Izvestia” newspaper
Running time: 120 minutes without intermission.