American theatregoers will soon have unique opportunity to enjoy the best Russian theatre productions in the selected movie theatres across the country. It became possible thanks to the efforts of Stage Russia.  Video HD of the Moscow Art production of The Cherry Orchard will be playing in New York, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and other cities. For up-to-date screening schedule please visit Stage Russia page on the web.

During the ceremony dedicated to the 118th anniversary of the Moscow Art Theatre that was held today at the Portrait Lobby, the theatre's artistic director Oleg Tabakov found it necessary to articulate his position following a recent statement by his colleague, Konstantin Raikin, the artistic director of the Satiricon Theatre at the VII Congress of the Union of Theatremakers. Mr. Tabakov said the following:

«My longtime friend Kostya Raikin spoke at the Theatre Congress about our problems. I was not at the Congress.  I run two theatres, a school, and I am an old man. I know the essence of his speech, and here is my say: do not offend a good actor, he is sharing his pain. We are indeed have indeed appeared characters who try to dictate to the artists what they should do. Dictate sometimes unacceptably aggressive form.

These comrades, I would call them scouts, for example, jumped onto the Moscow Art stage to stop performance which offends their sensibilities. They think that if there is no censorship, they should now monitor the arts. I am well seasoned, I have seen it all, and I have kept that production in the repertoire. Several years passed and it turned out that the production is still doing well, and attracting the audience.

Therefore, in view of my considerable Soviet and post-Soviet experience, let me give these impatient gentlemen a piece of advise: do not bring pork heads to the Moscow Arts, do not jump onto stage during performances, do not think that you are thus helping to create the right art. You do not have the capacity to produce a play or to present it.  Take it for granted. Since the late 80's the censorship in our country has been abolished. I agree with Mr. Raykin – it was a major step forward. Besides, now everyone can present their talent and their worthlessness directly, without a middleman. We ourselves have many ways to evaluate what we do, and how does our word resonates with the audience. Therefore, let us work without any aggression, which is a very bad sign for our society».