Today at the intersection of Nagatinskaya street and Andropov Avenue the solemn grounding of a cornerstone and a capsule with a message for future generations occurred, marking the beginning of the Moscow Art Theatre Branch construction. Artistic Director of the Moscow Art Theatre Oleg Tabakov, Minister of Culture of Russian Federation Vladimir Medinsky, Vice-Mayor of Moscow Leonid Pechatnikov, Prefect of Southern Administrative District of Moscow Alexey Chelyshev and the President of the Moscow Art Theatre School Anatoly Smeliansky participated in the ceremony, conducted by Igor Vernik. Actors and employees of the Moscow Art, the Moscow Art Theatre School students and Tabakov Theatre School students also attended the ceremony.

In his speech Vladimir Medinsky pointed out to the symbolism of the fact that the construction starts at the beginning of The Year of Literature: “Many names of Russian and world drama are associated with the Moscow Art Theatre. This theatre became not only a culture-bearer, like many other theaters, but a cultural phenomenon itself.” “Not so long ago we have erected a monument, dedicated  to the Moscow Art Theatre founders – Konstantin Stanislavsky and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko," – Leonid Pechatnikov reminded the audience, –"but I believe, the new theatres are the best homage to them”. Anatoly Smeliansky made a point in his speech of this construction not being another attempt to subdivide the Moscow Art Theatre, but a long overdue acquisition of highly technological transformer stage, that is essential for a theatre attempting to stay up-to-date.
Before the solemn grounding of the capsule, a production based on Chekhov’s works was performed by actors of the Moscow Art Theatre, followed by Oleg Tabakov reading the message to the future generetions:

“Today, on March 25, 2015, on the eve of the International Theatre Day (with a capital “T”, as Mr. Nemirovich-Danchenko used to write it,) we are grounding the first stone to serve as foundation for the new Moscow Art Theatre building. Just recently, we've grounded a stone on Kamergersky lane, where now a monument to the founders of the Art Accessible Theatre is standing. To be honest with you: I take pride in being a witness to one of my old ideas coming to life. I do not know and cannot know what will happen to this new Theatre, meant to become a new home to the Moscow Art here, on Nagatinskaya Street. We cannot foresee the future, but I want future generations to know what ideas and feelings were driving us, the company members of the Moscow Art, when we were giving this initial impact to our new home. So know this, people of unbeknown future: we start this being driven solely by the artistic ideas on the art of acting. We found this new stage, so this sprout springs into the humanistic Theatre, which our founding fathers dreamt about. They knew only well when to lay a foundation to the art that future generations would have to maintain and represent. Why would one be doing such things? Because we ourselves are not all that there is to life. Because if we have honor and conscience, we have to help the theatre art of the future to develop, to acquire a new face, a new voice. From concept to realization – this is  the way of any actor’s, and any director’s achievement, any worthy performance, any dignified Theatre. I myself write this word with a capital letter, so that it may project the agitation of this day, when we lay a foundation to this new stage of the Chekhov Art Theatre. With best regards to you, people of the future, on behalf of current Moscow Art Theatre, and on behalf of Oleg Tabakov, an actor who has served the Russian stage for 60 years”.

The Moscow Art Theatre Branch is scheduled to welcome its first audiences in 2018.

The annual Tabakov Award ceremony took place the Tabakov Theatre on March 20. Since 1995 amongst the recepients of this award were writers and playwrights, theatre scholars and historians, directors and actors, artists and philanthropists, journalists and TV hosts – everyone, whom Mr. Tabakov considered to be of great influence to our culture and its development. This private award is a humble gesture of respect and gratitude towards his colleagues.  This is the 20th time Mr. Tabakov was delivering his award.

This year the following Tabakov Awards were presented to:

Alexander Molochnikov. playwright and director, and Nikolai Simonov, set designer,
– for creating the 19.14 production commemorating the beginning of the First World War;

Evgeny Pisarev, Artistic Director of the Pushkin Theatre
– for inspirational effort to return into the spotlight for the audience the Kamerny Theatre of Alexander Tairov and Alisa Koonen, as one of the brightest pages of Russian theatre history;

Marina Brusnikina, director
– for creating the Reading Circle series;

Andrey Smoliakov, actor
– to my disciple for his artistic achievements;

Alexey Serebryakov, actor
– to my disciple for his artistic achievements;

Anna Gulyarenko, actress and acting teacher
For producing Children of the Sun by Maxim Gorky, a senior project at The Tabakov Theatre School 

Andrey Zvyagintsev, film director
– for his love and kindness to the characters of Leviathan;

Mikhail Gutzeriev, Philanthropist, Chairman of the Board of Directors of RussNeft OJSC
– for his selfless caring and support of Russia’s emerging young artists 

Tabakov Theatre actor Sergey Beliaev, who has celebrated his 55th anniversary on March 17, was honored with citation. Next, Mr. Tabakov has extended his International Women’s Day greetings to all women working in his theatres, and delivered tokens of appreciation to Company Manager and Assistant Artistic Director of the Moscow Art Theatre Olga Khenkina and Associate Company Manager Natalia Bednova, MXAT Director of Audience Development Natalia Vinogradova, Finance Director Irina Sokol, and Superintendant Margarita Loginova.

At the end of the ceremony Mr. Tabakov received an award himself. The Moscow Art Theatre presented its Artistic Director with a unique commemorative token made of gold and diamonds for playing the leading role in the premiere production of Jeweler’s Jubilee.

There are only 5 tickets left for the first ever English-language guided Backstage Tour of the Moscow Art Theatre on Wednesday, March 18 at 14:00.

For more information please read here.

Remaining tickets are on sale at the box-office of the Moscow Art Theatre.

Dear patrons!

Please note that our April playbill has changed.

The following performances scheduled on the Small Stages have been canceled:

The Hat on April 25 and 26
The New American on April 28
The House on April 29
19.14 on April 30

Please return your tickets to our box-office for a full refund.

On April 25, instead of originally scheduled on the Main Stage performance of The Precipice we will be presenting The Jeweller's Jubilee. All tickets are valid. Patrons who wish to return their tickets may do so in our box-office up until the showtime.

The following additional performances on the Small Stages are being announced, and the tickets are already on sale in our box office:
April 14– The New American
April 15– Live Sound. A musical evening
April 16– A Chrestomathy
April 17– The House
April 18– 19.14
April 19– 19.14
April 21– The Siege
April 22– The Duel
April 23– The House
April 24– The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
April 25– Crime and Punishment
April 26– Dear Treasure

Please accept our apologizes for the inconvenience.

For additional information please call: + 7 (495) 646-3-646 or +7 (495) 692-67-48.

British playwright Nichola McAuliffe has sent this greetings for the opening of The Jeweller's Jubilee

Dear Mr Tabakov, Miss Tenyakova, Miss Moroz and Mr Bogomolov,

I send all love and luck for 4th. I will be thinking of you and I'll have a word with St. Genesius, the Patron Saint of Actors to keep you in his care. HRH The Prince of Wales and H. M. Queen are aware of your first performances and I shall have great joy in reporting back when I see what, I have no doubt, will be your superb realisations of my play and my characters. — No - they're now YOUR play and YOUR characters!  I cannot wait to see The Jeweller's Jubilee, and I cannot wait to meet you, the finest practioners of our shared art, in the finest theatre in the world.

All my love to you all,
Nichola (McAuliffe)

Timofey Kulyabin has staged Tannhauser at the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. I haven’t seen the production, but then again, so haven’t the accusers. However, the very fact of a criminal case being filed against a piece of art, no matter how questionable or controversial it is, alarms me greatly.

Lev Tolstoy introduced a wonderful term – the energy of delusion. The artist has the right to stray. In it, in this wandering, new meanings are found, the struggle of spirit, the very energy of life. We cannot slap art on the wrist. We cannot subject plays, books, music, and paintings to criminal cases. By doing so we find ourselves just one step away from burning books in piles.

A freedom of creativity is as essential as a freedom of religion.

Censorship is immensely baneful in any manifestation, whether it is imposed by the government or by the clergy. As I see it, the main purpose of the church and the society is to engage in a conversation, a discussion, a debate – rather than to persecute those who, in the opinion of the more sensitive members, – have violated the principles of morality or have hurt someone’s feelings.

I demand that the harassment of the director and the theatre should stop.

Let us talk instead of appealing to the Criminal Code. Let us discuss things instead of judging. Let us remember, that in the beginning there was the Word, not the Fist.

Oleg Tabakov