©  Ekaterina Tsvetkova

This one-man show is a story of a small man with big ambitions, which begins in a rented room in St. Petersburg and ends in a psychiatric asylum. At the beginning, the story is good-natured, somewhat ironic and a little bit lyrical, but gradually the play’s tone becomes deep and grim, as we watch a human mind slowly expire.

Anatoly Goryachev is both subtle and expressive. He gives a detailed and very convincing performance, portraying all stages of his character’s madness — from the paranoid melancholia to fits of temper. A piece of red satin, a heap of straw, and a bucket with knocked-out bottom, which substitute for the mantle, wig and crown of the Spanish king — these very Fomenko-like, simple but expressive theatrical methods have been mastered by Goryachev well. The tragedy of Poprishchin, as presented by Goryachev, is a tragedy of a small man with big ambitions. But it is also a tragedy of the demiurge, creating his very own, albeit a small one, universe.

Marina Davydova, Izvestia

Opening night: September 11, 2004

Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes without intermission

Ticket price range: 1000—20000 rub.