On Bolshaya Konyushenaya Street in St. Petersburg is the Variety Theater named after Arkady Raikin, the legendary Soviet satirist and comedian. In the building that the theater occupies today, in the 19th century there was a fashionable hotel "Demutov Tractor" with a restaurant of the highest category called "Bear" on the ground floor. In the 30s, the popular tavern fell into decay and was closed, and the State Variety Theater was located in its vast premises. In 1944, GTE was renamed the Theater of Miniatures and began to work under the guidance of the famous satirist Arkady Isaakovich Raikin.
Concerts at the forefront
The last year, before the end of the Second World War, the Raikin Theater gave performances and performances on the fronts, and after the victory in May 1945, the full troupe returned home. The creative process began to prepare new performances. And although the country was in a state of devastation, people came to the Raikin Theater, which became a resting place for Leningrad residents after difficult trials and many months of blockade. The troupe played several performances in Leningrad and a year later the theater went on a tour of the USSR. Four years passed on trips to Russian cities, after which the Theater of Miniatures returned to Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street in Leningrad.
The year 1957 was the beginning of a long tour trip to Western countries. Poland turned out to be the first country on the route, humor and satire were well understood and appreciated in the country. The self-critical Polish people even took some satirical impromptu Arkady Raikin at his own expense. It was easy to work with Polish audiences, and the theater spent in hospitable Poland for several months in a row.
In the first half of 1958, the Raikin Theater visited Bulgaria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. From August to December, the theater gave performances in East Germany, Yugoslavia and Romania. Then the troupe again traveled to Poland, but this time the route went through other cities not previously visited. From Poland, the artists left for Hungary, where they also visited regions of the country previously not covered by the tour. And in all the countries visited by the Arkady Raikin Theater, the public was primarily interested in dance or vocal numbers. For some reason, Satire was of little interest to anyone. So Arkady Isaakovich minimized his solo performances and dealt mainly with general issues.
After the European tour, the miniature theater was resting for a while, and then the artists set about updating the repertoire, which had long needed new productions. Several years of rather routine work passed, and in 1964 the USSR Ministry of Culture initiated a trip to the Raikin Theater in London, where several performances were to be shown to English viewers. In addition to performances on the stage of comedy theaters in the UK, the troupe gave a series of evening concerts on national English television.
Before moving to Moscow
In 1981, the famous director Gennady Yegorov was invited to the Raikin Theater, who successfully staged several performances, including “The Terrible Parents” by Jacques Cocteau, “Five Romances in the Old House” by the playwright of the Lenigrad playwright Vladimir Arro, and “Don't Say Goodbye” to G. Mamlin .
Relocation
Soon, the son of Arkady Isakovich, Konstantin Raikin, came to work in the Theater of Miniatures at Bolshaya Konyushennaya with a group of like-minded people. Young actors managed to convince the master that Moscow still needs the theater more and that its future should be connected with the capital. Raikin did not think long. It was decided to move to Moscow, and in Leningrad also leave everything as it is, as a branch and under different management. To speed things up, Arkady Isaakovich visited L.I. Brezhnev and enlisted the support of the Secretary General.
Branch in the northern capital
And in Leningrad, the Variety Theater named after Arkady Raikin began to work under the direction of deputy masters. In 2008, the honored artist of Russia, the popular comedian Yuri Galtsev, came to the post of artistic director, who in a short time created a creative group of like-minded people, and then as a result of common efforts a repertoire appeared.
In 2010-2011, a major overhaul was made at the Bolshoi Konyushennaya theater with a complete re-equipment of the auditorium and stage. Replaced all the seats in the stalls, and in the lobby installed several special demonstration modules that tell about the history of the theater. The scene was also re-equipped according to the latest word of technical arrangement.
Performances in Petersburg
In October 2012, director Nina Chusova turned to the classics and staged Moliere’s play “The Imaginary Sick”. Yuri Galtsev immediately played three roles, in this he was helped by actor Vyacheslav Manucharov. The performance was a success and immediately won the sympathy of the audience. The next year, Nina Chusova began staging the next performance. Soon, the Raikin Variety Theater included another production in its repertoire, it was "The Divine Comedy" by St. Petersburg playwright Isidor Shtok. This plot was previously used with great success by the Sergei Obraztsov Puppet Theater.
The Raikin Theater did not forget about the small spectators, for the children in the repertoire was the classic "Chestnut" according to the story of A.P. Chekhov, as well as a modern interpretation of the fairy tale "Cinderella". Children's performances were staged by director Yuri Kataev.
Moscow
In 1983, the theater Arkady Raikin received the building of the former cinema "Tajikistan". The premises needed reconstruction, which lasted four years.
The Raikin Theater under the new name "Satyricon" opened in 1987. The first performance was the production of Semyon Teodorovich Altov "Peace be to your house."
The departure of the People's Artist
And in December 1987, on the 17th, all of Moscow mourned over the death of the popularly beloved satirist Arkady Raikin, who suddenly died in his 76th year of life.
The leadership of the "Satyricon" took over Konstantin Raikin. The first performance, staged in 1988 by Roman Viktyuk, was a resounding success. It was a play by Jean Genet's "Handmaids." From this moment, the Satyricon loudly declared itself. The Arkady Raikin Theater continued the work begun by a brilliant satirist.
Development
In 1992, the Satyricon Theater received its official name - the Russian State Theater of Satyricon named after Arkady Raikin.
In honor of the 85th birthday of Arkady Isaakovich Raikin, the grandiose Three-Penny Opera was staged in 1996 based on the play by B. Brecht. The director was Vladimir Mashkov.
In 1998, on the stage of the Satyricon, Georgian director Robert Sturua successfully interpreted Shakespeare's Hamlet. The main role in the play was played by Konstantin Raikin.
The same Robert Sturua engaged in the production of the play "Signor Todero" by Carlo Goldoni in 2002. In the same year, director Yuri Butusov came to the theater from St. Petersburg , who directed the play Macbeth by Eugene Ionesco, written by a playwright in 1972.
In 2003, Konstantin Raikin first turned to Russian classics as a director. He was staged on the stage of "Satyricon" the work of Arkady Ostrovsky "Profitable place".
The play based on the play "The Snow Maiden" by A.N. Ostrovsky, released under the title "Country of Love" directed by Konstantin Raikin, became a kind of calling card for Satyricon and the entire creative group.
In 2009, after a long break in the theater’s repertoire, the production of “Profitable Place” with the new performers of all the main roles again returned.