"Without stage costumes, without any preparation, the orchestra took me to the world of Gogol in just a few bars." Didier Chalot, the Avignon OFF festival international relations consultant.

"Sorochinskaya fair" is a performance based on the novel by Nikolai Gogol, a participant of the special program of the international theatre festival in Avignon "Avignon Le OFF" (France). In this musical and dramatic project of the ensemble “Russia"not only the musicians are engaged, but also theatre and cinema actors. The play "Sorochinskaya fair" was created in the tradition of folk theatre. Actors as buffoons, breaking the boundaries between the audience and performers, immerse the audience in the semi-fantastic reality created by Gogol.

The main expressive matter of the performance is music, which is played live by the soloists of the ensemble. The Russian folk melody, intertwined with Gogol’s poetic language, makes the performance look like a fervent song. Bright musical language combined with expressive theatricality opens up new meanings of the story of the Russian classic and surrounds the viewer with the atmosphere of a fair festival.

The play was performed 15 times and got included in the international theatrical program of the Avignon festival. It was highly appreciated by the professional community and the general public.