At the invitation of the organizing committee of the second international theater festival "Arctic Stage" and with the support of the management of the DIALOG organization, the Russian Drama Theater of Stepanakert will be held in 2024. participated in this significant cultural event in Murmansk on November 15-22 and as a result was awarded with two special diplomas. This was the first international performance of the youth theater, which was founded in Stepanakert in 2022 by the initiative of the president of the local Russian community, Alexander Bordov, in 2023. In September, along with the entire population of Nagorno-Karabakh, he was forcibly deported from his native land, after which, thanks to the support of the DIALOG organization team and friends, he was revived and operates in Yerevan.
The Artsakh theater troupe came to Murmansk, the capital of the Russian Arctic, with a performance based on the works of Vladimir Mayakovsky "With a Whole Voice", which has a special value. it was the last one that the actors in 2023 in July it was presented in the besieged Nagorno-Karabakh and in January 2024 it became the first performance on the Yerevan stage after the revival of the theater in Armenia. Actors Martha Altunyan, Zoya Sarkisyan, Rudolph Hayryan, Bella Patvakanyan, Eliza Krikoryan, Emma Ogoltsova and Harutyun Andreasyan on stage. Accompanied by Schnittke's music and with the help of plastic movements, they created a harmonious ensemble of black and white. Analyzing Mayakovsky's best works, the themes of which have not lost their urgency, they have demonstrated their attitude towards everything that happened to their native land and is happening around us today. The production of director, artistic director of the theater Zhanna Krikorova, combining Mayakovsky's approach to the sharp questions of a century ago and Artsakh's voice to modern manifestations, created emotional tension, mesmerizing the audience, many of whom could not hold back their tears. Those present in the hall - the members of the jury, the participants of the festival and the residents of Murmansk, among whom there were many local Armenians - accepted the performance through the history of the theater itself and the difficult path it took, which can be called a civic feat. After the performance, the chairman of the Murmansk cultural committee, the chairman of the regional branch of theater actors of Russia, Yelena Krinzhina, came on stage, who, congratulating the guests from Armenia for a successful performance, spoke about the manifestation of character by the theater and the skillful presentation of one's feelings and position through the works of the great Russian poet.
He thanked the actors for their beautiful performance and wonderful speech on stage, and the director Zhanna Krikorova for the original artistic solutions to the complex problems of the performance. Addressing the head of the DIALOG organization present in the hall, the chairman of the board of trustees of the Russian Drama Theater of Stepanakert, Yuri Navoyan, Elena Krinzhina, on behalf of the organizing committee of the "Arctic Stage" festival, thanked the Armenian community of Moscow for contributing to the preservation of cultural traditions and ensuring the theater's participation in the festival. During one week, 14 theaters from five countries presented their best performances on the stages of Murmansk, which were evaluated by a high-art jury, consisting of famous stage masters, theater figures, and leading Russian theater experts. There was also an alternative jury, which gave an independent assessment to the competition presentations.
On November 22, during the solemn closing of the festival, the Russian Drama Theater of Stepanakert was awarded a special diploma "For the Preservation of the Russian Language" by the jury (chairman: People's Artist of Russia, leading actress of Moscow "Et Cetera" Theater Lyudmila Dmitrieva). And the alternative jury (chaired by Yevgenia Chibis, chairman of the observation board of the "United Volunteer Center" organization) awarded the theater a special diploma "for the manifestation of an active civic position through the dramaturgical basis of the preservation and presentation of the Russian language and culture." Within the framework of the festival, the artistic director and actors of the Russian Drama Theater of Stepanakert actively participated in the master classes and lectures of the leading figures of theater art, and attended the competition performances of other theaters participating in the festival.
The meeting of the theater with the Armenian community of Murmansk also took place, for which the participation of a theater troupe from Armenia at the "Arctic Stage" festival was certainly an event. During his stay in the capital of the Russian Arctic, Yuri Navoyan, the president of the DIALOG organization, had a number of meetings with the Murmansk administration and representatives of local creative associations.
As a result of discussions on the development of further cooperation, an agreement was reached regarding the upcoming visit of one of the Murmansk theater groups to Armenia, its performance on the Armenian stage, and the organization of a joint Armenian-Russian theater youth camp with the Stepanakert Russian Drama Theater.
