The Vakhtangov Theater presented a new production based on Gogol's "Dead Souls".

On April 27, 2021, the Vakhtangov Theater hosted the premiere of the play "Dead Souls", which instantly became a landmark event for the theater and the second most popular production by Vladimir Ivanov with the brilliant Maria Aronova. The play is built on a play of contrasts and an amazing interaction between mother and son. Director Vladimir Ivanov, one of the few masters of the comedy genre in the theater, called his work a "gallop" - a fast-paced pair dance. Maria Aronova, with her incredible charisma and ability to transform instantly, creates a memorable image of Chichikov, who is both repulsive and sympathetic. Her son, Vladislav Gandrabura, adds youthful energy and irony to the production, emphasizing the absurdity of the situations his character finds himself in. They take turns playing the role of Chichikov (sometimes simultaneously, as if reflecting each other), as well as other characters in the poem.

The minimalist approach to the set design emphasizes the acting skills. Maxim Obrezkov, who may have set a record for the number of productions this season on the Moscow stage (this is his third major work at the Vakhtangov Theater), surpassed himself in Dead Souls. A few chairs, a table and a screen are all the scenery that allows the actors to move freely in the time and space of Gogol's Russia. In the background are two huge sheets of paper with Gogol's handwriting - they store his edits and notes.

The costumes are made in a laconic style, which allows the actors to quickly change images and emphasize the social status of the characters. The sound design includes coachman's bells, church bells and sad chants, creating a sense of traveling through the vast expanses of Russia with its bribery and deception.

Maksim Obrezkov began his career in puppet theater at the age of sixteen and has extensive experience working with masks. For Dead Souls, he created 25 unique masks using innovative 3D scanning technology for the actors' faces. This made it possible to create accurate digital models of faces for the manufacture of special masks from lightweight organic plastic based on corn. The masks repeat the facial expressions of the actors and add the necessary features of the characters of Gogol's poem. They are easy to use due to the naturalness of the material. The process of creating one mask takes two weeks.

The first attempt at creating such masks was made for the play "Princess Turandot", where there were only four of them, and here - twenty-five! Buy tickets for the play "Dead Souls" on our website right now - do not miss the chance to witness this amazing theatrical performance by Maria Aronova and Vladislav Gandrabura.