July 3, 2025
Young directors from CIS and Georgia present Gogol project at Chekhov Festival
An open presentation of the project based on Nikolai Gogol's short story "The Nose" took place on 3 July at the branch of the Pushkin Moscow Drama Theatre. The project was developed by participants of the Laboratory for Young Directors from CIS Countries and Georgia.
"Our focus is non-verbal theatre combined with drama. The aim of the sessions is to shift the perspective on the classical material we know from school – Gogol's 'The Nose' – which is far more complex than it is usually presented to us. We are trying to find cracks through which we can enter Gogol's world. To discover our own logic, our own universe, our own meanings," said director-pedagogue Denis Azarov.
The Laboratory began on 23 June and took place as part of the Educational Programme of the 17th International Chekhov Theatre Festival. Its Artistic Director was Evgeny Pisarev, Artistic Director of the Pushkin Theatre and Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation. The teaching team included director-pedagogue Denis Azarov, set designer Alexey Tregubov, and choreographer Natalia Shurganova. They worked with 18 young directors from nine countries: Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The Laboratory for Young Directors from CIS Countries and Georgia is organised by the International Confederation of Theatre Unions with the support of the Interstate Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation (IFHC).