Maxim Gorky News

Since Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, Main Street Theater has held Hurricane Camps (both free & deeply discounted) and taken storybook characters to shelters and bookstores to engage with and cheer children. National and international media outlets shared news of MST's efforts (American Theatre Magazine shared news of our Hurricane Camp, BBC World Service's The Cultural Frontline spoke with MST's Mark Roberts re his social media updates about the Houston theater community and damage status/reports, and TYA Today Online, the nationally and internationally respected magazine for the field of theatre for young people published by Theatre for Young Audiences/USA, requested and published a reflection on the Hurricane and the Houston theater community by MST. (http://tyatodayonline.org/2017/09/07/tya-after-hurricane-harvey-main-street-theater/)

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Main Street Theater is finding ways to offer bits of relief to those in need. All 3 MST programs, the MainStage (plays for adults), the Theater for Youth (plays for families and school groups), and the Education & Outreach Department (classes and camps for kids), are reaching out to connect with the Houston community.

Main Street Theater opens its 42nd Season with Enemies by Maxim Gorky, adapted by David Hare.  Enemies tells the story of Russian society in 1905 when the country sat ready for revolution.  Directed by MST Artistic Director Rebecca Greene Udden, this collaboration with the University of Houston School of Theatre and Dance features a cast of 24, 8 of whom are UH students.

Main Street Theater's (MST) 2017 - 2018 Season will offer plays that embody alternate takes on moments in history, in literature, and in the way people view the world.  With 5 regional premieres on the MainStage and 7 plays based on children's books at the Theater for Youth, MST's 42nd season opens in September 2017 and runs through June 2018.

Anthony Biggs presents the UK premiere of Maxim Gorky's 1908 The Last Ones in a highly dramatic and touching production that nevertheless feels ultimately insubstantial.

Brian Blessed returns to The Mill at Sonning to direct Agatha Christie's most enthralling and entertaining thriller "SPIDER'S WEB" from Thursday 6 July to Saturday 9 September 2017, with Press Night on Wednesday 12 July 2017.

Showered with rave reviews and following two sold-out runs in 2016, Lee Tannen's incredibly personal, funny, bitter-sweet play "I Loved Lucy" about his 10-year relationship with TV comedy legend Lucille Ball is to transfer to London's Arts Theatre for a strictly limited 7-week season from Wednesday 19 July.

'The British don't know how to make a good cup of coffee. You don't know how to make a good cup of tea. It's an even swap.'

Jermyn Street Theatre in collaboration with Upstart presents the UK premiere of MAXIM GORKY'S THE LAST ONES, translated by CATHY PORTER and directed by ANTHONY BIGGS.

Following the announcement that Anthony Biggs will be standing down from his role as Artistic Director this summer, Jermyn Street Theatre announces his final season from April to July 2017.

It was announced today that Anthony Biggs will step down as Artistic Director of leading Off West End venue Jermyn Street Theatre this summer to pursue new projects, after nearly five years in the post. His final production will be the UK Premiere of Maxim Gorky's The Last Ones, in a revised translation by Cathy Porter, which will play 6th June-1st July.

Konstantin Gavrilovich Trepleyev invites you to join him for a performance starring Nina Zarechnaya as the Universal Soul, performed at the estate of Russia's famed actress, Arkadina Nikolayevna. Arrive lakeside as the full moon rises. Champagne Optional. Nature and eternity await.

Kip Williams' first production since being appointed Artistic Director of Sydney Theatre Company is the epic, geopolitical thriller, Chimerica by Lucy Kirkwood, featuring a cast of 33 at Roslyn Packer Theatre from 28 February.

Konstantin Gavrilovich Trepleyev invites you to join him for a performance starring Nina Zarechnaya as the Universal Soul, performed at the estate of Russia's famed actress, Arkadina Nikolayevna. Arrive lakeside as the full moon rises. Champagne Optional. Nature and eternity await.

Sydney Theatre Company today announced that it has appointed Kip Williams as Artistic Director commencing 3 November 2016 .

Kip Williams is to be Sydney Theatre Company's Interim Artistic Director, Ian Narev, Sydney Theatre Company Chairman, announced today. A Resident Director at STC since 2013, Williams begins his new role immediately and will continue until a new Artistic Director is appointed later this year.

Summary: The Tale of Aypi follows the fate of a group of Turkmen fishermen dwelling on the coast of the Caspian Sea. The fear of losing their ancestral home looms over the entire village. This injustice is being made to look like a voluntary initiative on the part of the fishermen themselves, whilst the ruling powers cynically attempt to confiscate their land. One brave fisherman from the village rises up to confront them and fights for his native shore, as a response to an act of cruelty inflicted on a defenceless young woman centuries ago. This unjustly executed soul returns as a ghost during this troubled time to exact a terrible revenge on the men of the village. The relationships among the characters mirror the eternal opposition between the forces of nature, with the intervention of mystical forces ratcheting up the tension. About the Author: Ak Welsapar was born in 1956 in the former Soviet Republic of Turkmenistan. He received his Master's degree in Journalism from Lomonosov Moscow State University in 1979. In 1987, Ak Welsapar became a member of the Soviet Writers' Association and received his second Master's degree in Literary Theory from the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in 1989. In 1993, after spending a year under house arrest, he was excluded from the Writers' Association following the publication of some investigative articles about colossal ecological problems in Central Asia, mostly caused by the overuse of pesticides needed for cotton production. The consequences of this were terrible and even resulted in the Aral Sea drying up. The regime in Turkmenistan declared Ak Welsapar a 'public enemy', and the persecution that he faced began again, with redoubled force. There was a ban on publishing works written by him, whilst his published books were confiscated from bookstores and libraries, to be burnt. To avoid unjust imprisonment and the persecution of his family, Ak Welsapar eventually left Turkmenistan in 1993. He and his family have now been residents of Sweden since 1994, where he is a member of the Swedish Writers' Association. He has also been an honorary member of the International PEN-Club since 1993. Ak Welsapar writes in Russian, Turkmen and Swedish. Review copies are available upon request. Title: The Tale of Aypi Author: Ak Welsapar Publisher: Glagoslav Publications Language: English Translator: W.M. Coulson ISBN: 9781784379834 Extent: 168 pages Format: paperback, hardback, e-book

Gary Naylor sees a courageous and demanding production of Maxim Gorky's play about a family and society breaking apart as authority oversteps itself.

Casting has been confirmed for the world premiere of a new version of Maxim Gorky's Vassa Zheleznova, coming to Southwark Playhouse. The production will run Wednesday 15 June - Saturday 9 July 2016, with an official opening scheduled for Friday, 17 June 2016 at 8pm.

Perseverance Theatre presents In the Next Room or the vibrator play, by Sarah Ruhl. The play takes place at the dawn of the age of electricity and with that a groundbreaking piece of technology.  The perfect gentleman and inventor, Dr. Givings has created a device to treat "hysteria" in his patients by inducing "paroxysms" that attract the attention of his wife, who hears the sounds of success through the walls of his operating theatre.  Meanwhile, Mrs. Givings struggles with a new baby and her own urgent desires.  This modern comedy of manners is full of exploration and fulfillment.