#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. The Norilsk Laboratory of Contemporary Drama was named Polyarka because it opened on the day when the polar night left the city. This was the case for the first four years, then the dates changed slightly. The eighth laboratory dedicated to contemporary Polish drama took place in March, just before the coronavirus story began. It is known that the ninth is scheduled for the fall. The project, conceived so that the theater does not turn into a conveyor belt for the production of laughter and audience applause, deserves to remember how it began in January 2013.
“This is a good shake-up for the troupe”, said Yegor Chernyshov who had just assumed the position of the chief director of the troupe at that time. “And for the director, it’s just a godsend”.
Sketches-2013 artists played not only on stage, but also in the decoration shop and even under the stage. In January, five projects of potential performances were shown. For the first time, the audience took part in the discussion of what they saw together with professional critics led by the curator of the laboratory movement Oleg Loyevsky.
Summing up the results of Polyarka-2013, the experts said that it was a success:
“Often the first laboratory is crumpled”, noted Moscow critic Alexander Vislov, “they resist it in the theater, as it is a serious stress, but not in Norilsk. It wasn’t like that here. The whole troupe took part in the work on the sketches. It is important that laboratory masters came to work with the artists. Besides, the plays were good”.
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Text: Varvara Sosnovskaya, Photo: Nikolay Shchipko, Vladimir Makushkin
