THE OPEN ARTS FESTIVAL ‘CHERESHNEVY LES’ AND THE VAKHTANGOV STATE ACADEMIC THEATRE OF RUSSIA present:
Henrik Ibsen, ‘PEER GYNT’

Previews were hold May 30 – 31, 2019.

Premiere – September 7, 2019.

Henrik Ibsen (1828 – 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre developer. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as “the father of realism” and one of the most influential playwrights of his time. His major works include Brand, Peer Gynt, An Enemy of the People, Emperor and Galilean, A Doll’s House, Hedda Gabler, Ghosts, The Wild Duck, When We Dead Awaken, and The Master Builder.

‘Peer Gynt’ is a five-act play in verse published in 1867. It is one of the most widely performed Norwegian plays. As most critics believe ‘Peer Gynt’ is a romantic play that contains mystery and fantasy. The famous music written by Edvard Grieg in XIX century outlines it.

Henrik Ibsen identified that ‘Peer Gynt’ was concerned with “contradictions between ability and desire, or between will and circumstance, the mingled tragedy and comedy of humanity and the individual”.

The play is both grotesque and tragic, satiric and lyric. Yury Butusov, the director, constructs the surprising absurd tragicomedy in his signature manner.

Yury Butusov:

“The play ‘Peer Gynt’ contains lots of meanings, occasions, cross roads, motives, philosophy and mystery. In the XIX century one should have been insane in order to stage this play and should probably be well enough insane now. The play breaks all rules and limits, crosses borders of common sense. If we’d try to choose only one main theme for the staging, what would it be? The desperate search for self-identity, the eternal love, the man almost crushed and blown apart by the world, the revolt of humanity, the glorification of romance – all these themes are crucial. Thus, the play by Henrik Ibsen is universal. No one can cope with all the themes but it’s not necessary. The story exists on it’s own as any Great Book.  Sometimes it catches an actor, a director. The show is an attempt to interact with the story. I’ve chosen my pass to the world created by Henrik Ibsen. It’s the relationship between mother and son and the revolt, the freedom and the boundaries, the responsibility. If one had made a mistake a long time ago – he has still an opportunity to correct it”.