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FORMALNY THEATRE OF ANDREY MOGUCHY BETWEEN DOG AND WOLF Illustration of the novel by Sasha Sokolov The performance Betweer Dog and Wolf, after The School for Pools, is thè second performance ofthe FormalnyTheatre in the planned theatrical trilogy based on the work by Sasha Sokolov. A futile attemptto properly transíate Sokolov's novéis from Russlan into any other language motivated the authors of this performance to translate it into the language of theatre, language of poetle Images. The performance doesn't bave intentions to retell the plot ofthe novel. It is more appropriate to talk about sketches or stage illustrations of a literary text. Don't try to Immedlately decipher the meaning and parts ofthe conflicts that are coded into the episodes ofthe performance. At the end, the visual, sensual, emotional experience ofthe visual thread ofthe performance is much more important, the experience that is primarily based on the associative, musical, or poetic logie. The condition of being unreachable, unexplainable, the feeling of unreliabllity of the mundane existence in expectation of the Eternai life, in other words, the state "in between", which is so innate to Russian peopie, maybe is the very "argument" that gives us the foundation to withstand and hope. Between Dog and Wolf, between Норе and Darkness, between Mìsery and Wealth, between Rast and Future, between Heaven and Earth, live their iives and count the stars the inhabitants ofthe Itil river (ancient name ofthe river Volga), which is, in the novel, also called the Wolfs River. Freaks and mlserly, thìeves and murderers-for-nothing, laborers and sharpeners, sailors and railway men, our hero, one-legged Hija Dzindzirela - let's say, our neighbors, taken from the paintings of Peter Bruegel the Eider and taken deep into the interior of Russia. On the other bank ofthe river are the remnants ofthe intellectual Russia cultural traditions, 19th Century. Saint Petersburg. A.S. Pushkin, Evgeni Onegin... Jakov llic Palamahterov - freelance artist, writer, now game warden, hunter, the main huntsman, a "superfluous man", who also lives bere, in the river valley. And "in between" - Marija, called Marina, some even call her Orina - thè eternai Love that leads to death. WHO IS THERE BETWEEN DOG AND WOLF? The world premiere based on the book by Sasha Sokolov was held on the Azure coast. Cioser to the Homeland - was not possible... ... In Nice; even in November the temperature reaches twenty degrees Celsius. Squads of withered old women, holding buoyant old men under their arms, marching toward the nearby restaurants - ìt's the high season for clams and young Bojole. In the old harbor, hundreds of white yachts are squeezing next to each other; a little farther down the shore, toward Cannes, a hangar of private small jets, somewhere in Antib, five minutes drive by the tram - a villa of Berezovski, ten minutes car drive to Villefranche-sur Mer-villa Rothschild, and about half an hour drive by bus to Saint-Paul-de Vanee - Chagall's grave, Six years ago, the Academy of Russian Culture in Nice and Russian "Art Factory" decided to organize a festival of Russian culture in those beautiful places - pourquoipas?, why not, as they say. Introducing the Contemporary Russian artto the spoiled audience from the Azure coast began withfilm... The audience bit the bait, and asked for more„.This year, the program has changed its coordinates and became theatrocentric. Togetherwith Russian animation from Ivan Makslmov, Mihajl Aldasin, Dimitri Geier, Aleksandar Tatarski and the retrospective of films ofVasili Suksin, this year the Russian culture was represented by, who knows why, only the performances from Saint Petersburg; The Valentine's Day by "Baltic Home"theatre, and Wet Wedding by Russian Engineering Theatre AHE... ... But the most significant and, with no doubt, very successful event was the world premiere ofthe Between Dog and Wolf by Andrey Moguchy, production of FormalnyTheatre from Sankt Petersburg, based on the novel by Sasha Sokolov with the same title. Theatre goers remember and love the previous Moguchy's performance based on Sokolov's work - The School for Pools, which received numerous awards, Fringe First among others, abut