Mir Caravan comes to town

Take a trip into a parallel universe as a trans-European travelling theatre festival rolls in

Natalya Voroshilova (that's my maiden name)

Special to The Moscow News

Mir Caravan 2010

September 3 – 5 at Kolomenskoye Park, 39 Prospekt Andropova, m. Kolomenskaya

Tired of conventional theatrical performances? Looking for something new, fresh and extraordinary? Well, the Mir Caravan festival might offer just what you want. Starting on Friday, September 3, the festival at Kolomenskoye Park presents numerous outdoor performances in a celebration of international travelling theatre.

This trans-European tour of travelling theatrical events first came to Moscow back in May 1989 as a symbol of peace and friendship between nations. This independent cultural movement of actors took place in the context of the Cold War. When the show started, the Berlin Wall still divided Europe, and its impact across frontiers impressed everyone from participants to future presidents.

“When Mir Caravan stopped in Prague at the beginning of July 1989 it was like a rehearsal for the Velvet Revolution,” the organisers quote Czech poet-politician Vaclav Havel as saying.

Now, 21 years on, this cavalcade of independent theatre is back in a much-changed Moscow - looking forwards as well as backwards.

“It’s time to remember and celebrate the travelling theatre back in the year of 1989. Some of the actors from that year are still with us, some are sadly not," said festival coordinator John Kilby.

"And it's a fact that there still exist some frontiers to cross, some boundaries to open.”

One of the highlights of the festival is “Yaga’s Fire” by Buchinger’s Boot Marionettes of Marseilles, France. A puppet performance based on the Slavic folk tale of Baba Yaga, it has a soundtrack which incorporates familiar tunes from beloved childhood tales. The show takes Vasilisa the Wise through many ordeals in her search of wisdom and truth.

The festival aims to create a parallel universe with its own rules and features several highly visual theatrical forms ranging from puppet shows to a performance by Slava Polunin, the most famous Russian clown. As usual he is ready to bewilder the audience with his way of working with space. And the green spaces of Kolomenskoye will be transformed, with trees in swans' feathers, luminescent labyrinths and a cast of giants, dwarves, actors and musicians to beguile visitors at every turn.

Published in 2010

https://vk.com/public212094932