In February the three guest performances of one of the oldest Russian drama theatres - the Alexandrinsky Theatre (St.Petersburg) - take place in the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre.

February 15- a one-man performance by the People’s Artist of Russia, Sergey Parshin “Willing to Live”. It’s based upon the tales by Stepan Pisakhov, diaries of Boris Shergin, extracts from novels “They Fought for Their Country” by Mikhail Sholokhov and “I Came to Give You Freedom” by Vasily Shukshin.

 “These pieces of writing are of different genre, style and spirit; still, they were taken very much to the artist’s heart. Life in its diversity is what the performance is about. Delight and zest for life bubbling over and breaking loose by means of songs, a great longing for what-might-have-been or for the unachievable, a fervent hope to reach the rainbow - that’s what the performance is imbued with. These emotions are backed up by extracts from the diaries of Boris Shergin who comes out not only as a witty folklorist but also as a distinctive philosopher”, - “Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti” wrote about the show.

February 16 and 17 - the satiric play “The Government Inspector” by Nikolai Gogol. The performance was awarded with the National Theatre Award Golden Mask and the highest theatrical award of St.Petersburg “Golden Soffit”.

The director of the performance - the Artistic Director of the Alexandrinsky Theatre, People's Artist of Russia Valery Fokin is considered to be one of the leading experts on Gogol’s works, this is the third time he directed “The Government Inspector”. But his Alexandrinka’s project is a special one. The very first performance of the Gogol’s play took place right on the stage of this theatre on April 19, 1836. Nikolai Gogol himself took part in staging the show.

Krasnoyarsk spectators will see the tenth version of “The Government Inspector” staged in the Alexandrinsky Theatre. Modern St.Petersburg and St.Petersburg of Gogol’s times intertwine together in it. The absurd born out of the ordinary – this is where those who think that vice shall rule the world unpunished will finally be trapped. In this respect, Nikolay Gogol’s genius comedy may be considered as a state-related play. The following artists play parts in the performance: People's Artists of Russia Svetlana Smirnova, Sergei Parshin, Nikolai Marton, Igor Volkov, Vladimir Lisetskiy, Honoured Artists of Russia Elena Zimina and Vitaly Kovalenko as well as Dmitri Lyisenkov, Alexander Polamishev and others.

February 17 - a one-man performance by the People’s Artist of Russia, Igor Volkov “An Anxious Box Keeper’s Sketch-Book” based on the stories by Mikhail Zoshchenko. Igor Volkov is an actor skilled in one-man performances and awarded with a great deal of theatrical prizes. His acting comprises a wide range of emotions, the expressions of tender lyricism and harsh grotesque, subtle humour and tragic sympathy for a character he plays.

Igor Volkov often directs his one-man performances, and “An Anxious Box Keeper’s Sketch-Book” is no exception. He created the onstage composition of the performance and played the part of a narrator - a low ranker Vasiliy Byilinkin.

The tour of the Alexandrinsky Theatre is a part of the programme of the Ministry of Culture’s Federal Centre for Support of Tour Activities.