On 23 July 2024 at 13:00, a ceremony will take place at the Alley of Artists at Troyekurovskoye Cemetery in Moscow to unveil a memorial to Valery Ivanovich Shadrin – the founder and, from 1992 to 2022, General Director of the International Chekhov Theatre Festival.
Valery Ivanovich was a great builder, a man who believed in the power of art and seemed to connect and warm the entire world with his kindness and humanity. Life buzzed around him; he united countries and continents in a single creative current, infusing everyone with "festival" spirit. "The man who was theatre" – that is how he was described by his partners and friends, whom he held in high regard and with whom he was able to establish not only business relationships but also warm personal ties over many years. That is why figures from the world of theatre readily responded to invitations to take part in Festivals and joint creative projects. Since its inception, the Chekhov Festival has presented over 600 performances from 54 countries around the world – works by 437 directors, choreographers and music directors. All of this is the achievement of Valery Ivanovich Shadrin.
About the memorial
The memorial reflects the unique personality of Valery Shadrin, his boundless love of life and his deep devotion to theatre and to nature. The staircase symbolises the ascent into the extraordinary theatrical world that Valery Shadrin opened for all of us. The roses are his favourite flowers.
A natural stone – a granite boulder measuring more than two metres in length and three metres in width – was found in a wild forest near the Theatre Village of the International Chekhov Theatre Festival, located 450 km from Moscow and seven kilometres from the ancient town of Toropets, on the border of the Pskov and Tver regions. The Theatre Village is renowned for its masterclasses, laboratories, rehearsals and productions created there by both emerging and established Russian and international directors. For twenty years, this land was a place of strength, a source of solace and joy for Valery Ivanovich. By a curious (or perhaps not so curious) coincidence, 23 July 2024 marks the 950th anniversary of Toropets.
The author of the composition is Georgy Butikashvili, a renowned architect and academician of the Russian Academy of Arts. The work on the stone was carried out by representatives of the Toropets dynasty of stone craftsmen – Viktor, Sergey and Anatoly Gubenko. The sculptor who created the bas‑relief is Evgeny Burkov. The driving force and initiator of the project was Karina Tsaturova, General Director of the International Chekhov Theatre Festival.
The search for the stones, the creation of the design, the fabrication, transport and installation of the memorial took a year. The total weight of the memorial composition is 3.5 tonnes.