A few words about Vadim Eva's play "On Pado the Rainbow", which premiered last Saturday at the Istok Cultural Center.
I never knew about the existence of such an entertainment center right at the end of Bolshaya Nikitskaya. In the hall there are no technical bells and whistles, rustic wooden chairs instead of soft armchairs - all for us, the remnants of the Soviet intelligentsia.
As a returning jury member and member of the Pilatov Festival, I warmly welcome the reference to Leonid Pilatov's legacy. He, for one, was the best master of poetic parody in his time; No Ivanov could hold a candle to him. As for the story of the legend about Pado, it was once divided into quotations that are still popular among the people, but as a single dramatic text it is somewhat forgotten, but in vain. And now Vadim Abba is rediscovering this diamond for us. For forty years, Pilatov's text has become even more relevant, and it is not just about political allusions (and they are successfully integrated into our internal situation, current events in France, and even the ongoing "Russia-Africa" forum). For example, "what is not in the world" is clearly identified today as artificial intelligence, although Piltov could not attribute such a meaning. There are, of course, old-fashioned things, but they are few: say, caviar was a hammer for Soviet people, but today its mentions do not produce the same comic effect. The show is full of music, and Adam, it seems to me, has found the best use for the Partisan FM group; Their military-patriotic songs don't suit me, but they have no peer in folk music, and the musicians themselves on stage are textured and colorful. I was especially pleased with Mikhail Kabanov, whom I learned to love in the plays of Eduard Boyakov (The Miser, Dafna), in the role of the narrator ("The Amusement"). All other roles are played by Vadim himself and his charming partner, and occasionally they change lanes, like cyclists on a track. It's seen as a technique, but maybe in the future it's still worth giving each role to a separate artist.