About

The Vedogon’-Theatre is the first and only professional drama theatre established in Zelenograd, one of Moscow’s administrative areas. The founder and the artistic director of the theatre is Pavel Kurochkin.

“Vedogon’” is an old Slavic word, which means “a spirit of a living being”. The Vedogon’- Theatre sees it as its principal goal to evoke and keep up creativity in people. The repertory consists of plays by Russian and foreign classics, plays by contemporary authors and plays for children.

The theatre started its first season in autumn 1992 with a play “Of Nice Places, Sweet Dreams and Miserable Life” based on short s stories by P. Romanov, staged by Pavel Kurochkin.

On 23 March 1999 the Department of Culture of Moscow gave the Vedogon’ - Theatre the status of a state cultural institution. The company is financed from the budget of Moscow as well as by earned income and fund-raising.

The Public Supervisory Board of the Vedogon’-Theatre was set up in 2001. The current chairman of the Board is Anatoly Smirnov, Prefect of Zelenograd.

The Vedogon’-Theatre has its own theatre venue: a stage and a house with 108 seats.

The repertory company numbers 27 actors, who are graduates of the Shchepkin High Theatre School, the School-Studio at the Chekhov Moscow Art Theatre, the Yaroslavl Theatre High School.

The company has performed more than 40 plays since 1999.

The Vedogon’-Theatre has participated in numerous international theatre festivals in Turkey, Uzbekistan, Denmark, Germany, as well as in many cities of Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Pskov, Vyshniy Volochok, Bryansk, Veliky Novgorod, Ryazan’, Vologda, Novy Urengoy, Omsk, Vladimir).

Awards and prizes:

• “Most Unusual Fairytale Performance” – Moscow International Festival of Chamber Theatres and Minimalistic Performances “The Slavic Crown for Kids”, play “In His Shoes”, Moscow, 2006

• The main prize named after A. P. Svobodin "For deep comprehension and development of historical and architectural space by means of modern psychological theater" and special prizes for the performance of roles (actors P. Kurochkin, V. Stuzhev, P. Vasilyev) - IX International Theatre Festival "The Voices of History" (play "Tsar Feodor Ioannovich", Vologda, July, 2007).

• Prizes for "Best Performance" and "Best Actor" (P. Kurochkin) - XVI International Festival "Slavic Theatre Gatherings" (play "Tsar Feodor Ioannovich", Bryansk, May 2008).

• Prize "The Silver Knight" (directed by A. Kuzin), Diploma "Best Actor" (P. Kurochkin) - VI International Theatre Forum "The Golden Knight", nomination "Theatre of big form," (play "Tsar Feodor Ioannovich" , Moscow, November 2008).

• The main prize of the festival (director A. Kuzin), prizes "Audience’s Award", "Best Actor" (P. Kurochkin) - VII International Festival "Young Theaters of Russia" (play "Tsar Feodor Ioannovich" Omsk, November 2009 .).

• Award "Best Performance for Children" - X International Theatre “King-Festival” (play "Danish Vanya", Veliky Novgorod, April 2009).

• The Semenov Prize “For deep comprehension and development of historical and architectural space by means of modern psychological theater” – X International Theatre Festival "The Voices of History" (play "The Lower Depths" by M. Gorky, Vologda, June 2010)

Artistic Director

Pavel Kurochkin (born in 1963) is one of the founders and the artistic director of Vedogon’-Theatre, Meritorious Actor of the Russian Federation, Professor of the M.S. Schepkin Higher Theatre School (Institute) associated with the State Academic Maly Theatre, Moscow Mayor’s award –winner (1995).

He has staged about 20 performances, among them:

• ‘Shouldering Other People’s Sins’ by A. Ostrovsky 
• ‘Squaring the Circle’ by V. Kataev 
• ‘Angelo’ a poem by A. Pushkin 
• ‘In His Shoes’ (a theatre phantasy based on fairy tales by H. C. Andersen) 
• ‘Profitable Position’ by A. Ostrovsky 
• ‘All My Sons’ by Arthur Miller 
• ‘Beyond the Horizon’ by Eugene O’Neill 
• ‘Absurd Person Singular’ by Sir Alan Ayckbourn 
• ‘Talents and Admirers’ by A. Ostrovsky 
• ‘Vanya Datsky” after B. Shergin 
• ‘A Word Is A Word’ by Michael Ramløse 
• ‘Without a Dowry’ by A. Ostrovsky 

Acting career:

• Pakhom in the folk comedy ‘Kind Pakhom’ 
• Krutitsky in ‘From Rags to Riches’, A.Ostrovsky 
• Freddy in ‘Parade Alle, Idlers’ (based on‘Freddy’ by Robert Thomas) 
• Kochkarev in “Marriage’ by N.Gogol 
• Leo Gruzdev in ‘From Evening Till Midday’ by V. Rozov 
• Antipholus in ‘The Comedy of Errors’ by W.Shakespeare 
• Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich in ’Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich’ by A. Tolstoy 
• Count Almaviva in "The Barber of Seville or the Useless Precaution" (based on the play by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais and the opera by Gioacchino Rossini). 
• The Actor in ‘The Lower Depths’ by M. Gorky 
• Nicolay Ivanov in ‘Ivanov’ by A. Chekhov 

Prizes and awards:

• Moscow Mayor's Award in Education (1995) 
• The Medal of the Order for Service to the Fatherland, II degree (1997) 
• Medal "850 years of Moscow" (1997) 
• The honorary title "Meritorious Artist of the Russian Federation" (2005) 
• “Most Unusual Fairytale Performance” – Moscow International Festival of Chamber Theatres and Minimalistic Performances “The Slavic Crown for Kids”, play “In His Shoes”, Moscow, 2006