Russian capital prepares for International Festival of Theatre Schools of BRICS Countries

From 20 to 28 September, VDNKh will host the 8th International Festival of Theatre Schools of the BRICS Countries.

The creative forum, organised by the Institute of Theatre Arts named after Joseph Kobzon with the support of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will bring together young artists and teachers from Russia, China, South Africa, India, Iran, the UAE, Indonesia, and Belarus. TV BRICS is the international media partner of the event.

The festival is being held in accordance with the directions for partnership cooperation between the BRICS countries outlined by Russian President Vladimir Putin, one of which is cultural and humanitarian contacts. The event creates a space for international dialogue: artists from different countries learn about each other's theatrical traditions, share professional experience and present their work to a wide audience.

Exclusively for TV BRICS, Dmitry Tomilin, rector of the Institute of Theatre Arts named after Joseph Kobzon and Director of the festival, emphasised that the festival demonstrates the unity of theatrical approaches while preserving national identity.

"What impresses the Moscow audience most is that other countries also use the Stanislavsky system. [...] It is impressive when they see how the Stanislavsky system is transformed through the national colour of the countries whose representatives come, but at the same time remains unchanged," he noted.

The rector emphasised the importance of the festival for international dialogue. According to Tomilin, this format of cultural exchange creates a solid foundation for mutual understanding between countries.

"Initially, we received a letter from Vladimir Putin, in which he called it (the festival – Ed.) a kind of soft power, and Sergey Lavrov called it public diplomacy. Because you can talk a lot about how good you are, but when people see it with their own eyes [...] it speaks to them [the audience] much more than a thousand words," Tomilin emphasised.

Over the course of nine days, visitors will enjoy open-air performances, master classes, and concert programmes specially prepared by the festival participants.

The culmination will traditionally be a joint performance involving students from all participating countries. In the Year of Russian-Chinese Friendship, a play by the 13th-century Chinese author "The Orphan of Zhao" will be presented.

A press conference dedicated to the festival will be held on the eve of the opening. It will be attended by the organisers and leaders of foreign delegations. They will discuss the festival programme and its role in the development of public diplomacy.

The head of the delegation of the Iranian theatre company, writer, actress and director Elahe Kianfard, highly praised the significance of the festival, calling it an important platform for cultural exchange.

“The festival is becoming a true bridge between cultures – a place where dialogue is born and where we learn not only to hear but also to feel one another. Theatre is a special art, a conversation without intermediaries. There, the voice, the gaze and the emotion are conveyed directly from heart to heart,” she added.

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