THE CLASSMATES by Yuri Polyakov
First time in Melbourne the guests from Sydney!
The finalist of Short and Sweet Theatre Festival, Russian theatre Pilgrim Entertainment Group invite you to their new play
THE CLASSMATES is a story about old school mates who grew up in a changing Russia around the fall of the Iron Curtain and during Perestroika, which brought the country from Stagnation to New Russia where Mafiosi millionaires emerged and acquired their capitals due to deterioration of economic situation and inter-ethnic clashes. The play is about love, life, beliefs, betrayals, dreams and personal reflections on the era of old school friends. The action takes place in a flat of Ivan Kostromitin, a disabled Afghanistan war hero. His schoolmates come to celebrate his 40th birthday. Everyone has a story to tell and everyone wants to improve their life.
This play is written by one of the most popular Russian writers Yuri Polyakov, who personally gave the script of the play to Pilgrim Entertainment Group in London, and directed by Irina Ingman whose contemporary approach and vividness of the ideas have won the appreciation of Russian and English-speaking spectators in Sydney and New Zealand
PLEASE NOTE: FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO DO NOT SPEAK RUSSIAN, THERE WILL BE SUBTEXT
Feedback/Comments
Excellent for those who speaks Russian, however translations into English had some mistakes (to the extent that one was the opposite to what the character says. Also the translations were changed with the wrong speed so they did not match the scenes.
On the positive side, great production and excellent acting. Really enjoyed it.
Loved it! Will certainly go again if this group come to Melbourne.
SUch a great event!
A mildly interesting play performed by an amateur cast. The performances were, by and large, competent; some of the actors tried too hard.
Overall quite enjoyable.
For non-Russian speakers: the surtitles didn't work on the day. If you are interested in life in modern Russia, make sure the surtitle problem has been rectified first!
only 1 or 2 lines of the surtitles were visible, so more than half the conversation remained untranslated. This minor technical problem spoiled the show for me.
I walked out after 10 minutes.
A superb cast of professional actors. Excellent script. Topical. Realistic. Certainly, this was a night not wasted. The audience did not want to let the crew off the stage. Well done Pilgrim Entertainment - hope to see you here again in Melbourne!
Interesting, but not my cup of tea