Theatre Festival "Fat Weekend" - 10 March 2025, 18:53

Fat Weekend is one of the main theatrical events of the year in Russia. This year, the international open-air festival in the Yasnaya Polyana estate museum will be held from June 9 to 12. In the year of the 190th anniversary of Leo Tolstoy, leading Russian and foreign theaters will present performances based on the works of both the anniversary and other authors whose work is consonant with the eternal Tolstoy themes. "Tolstoy Weekend" is held with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the government of the Tula region and the State Corporation "Rostec". The Kolyada Theatre from Yekaterinburg will open the festival - the most famous private theater in Russia. Nikolai Kolyada will show a play based on Tolstoy’s story, which is rare for the theater – about personal choice, responsibility for actions and the mechanism of evil. The Moscow Theatre will also present Tolstoy’s novella, which is rare for the stage. The main role in the play will be played by two theaters at the festival – the Valmiera Drama Theatre from Latvia and the Ballet Moscow Theatre – these works reflect Leo Tolstoy’s reflections on gender and marriage. Two versions will bring to the festival two famous regional theaters of Russia – Perm and Saratov Theatres. Spectators are waiting for performances of different genres and styles – from classical traditional theater to experimental laboratory productions. Of particular importance is the audio performance-walk staged by the young Tula director Evgeny Malenchev. The play on eight volumes of Leo Tolstoy’s diaries was written by the young playwright Yulia Pospelova, and the composer was Grigory Polukhutenko. Also specially for the festival, the independent Moscow theater Le Cirque De Charles La Tannes prepared a storytelling. Among the foreign productions of the festival are a synthesis of drama and puppet theater from Slovenian Maribor and the above-mentioned performance from Valmiera. On the closing day of the festival, June 12, in the House of Culture "Yasnaya Polyana", a meeting will be held with the creators of the film, telling about a little-known episode from the life of Leo Tolstoy. The film will premiere in early June at the Kinotavr festival. In Yasnaya Polyana, excerpts from the film will be presented by the director, scriptwriter Pavel Basinsky and performer of the role of young Tolstoy Evgeny Kharitonov. Traditionally, "Fat Weekend" will be based on the stories of Tolstoy and modern authors. Especially for the festival, beloved by children, Moscow prepared its own versions of Tolstoy’s children’s stories. For the first time "Fat Weekend" was held in 2016. The idea of the festival belongs to the Governor of the Tula region Alexei Dyumin. In 2017, the festival acquired international status.