‘Tatarstan is not a theatre goer’
How theatres are popular in the city against the background of the phrase “Kazan is the sports capital”
Kazan is one of the largest cultural centres in Russia. The capital of Tatarstan preserves the cultural values of previous generations and keeps up with the times, striving to develop in various fields. One of the areas that Kazan focuses on is sports. New arenas and points of attraction for the public and athletes are appearing. But at the same time, the city is actively developing its cultural infrastructure. But whether theatres suffer from the phrase “Kazan is the sports capital of Russia” — read in the material of Realnoe Vremya.
More than 110,000 visitors in four months
As the press service of the Galiaskar Kamala Theatre told Realnoe Vremya, more than 110,000 people have visited the theatre this year. The most popular production among the audience was the play “Calico Wedding”. In it, four newlywed couples suddenly find themselves on the verge of divorce on the day of their first anniversary.
Most often, Kazan residents went to the theatre's productions from January to April. In general, its audience is divided into those who are older and younger than 35 years old.
Three-time winner of Golden Mask Russian national theatre award
Ekiyat Puppet Theatre is one of the most popular places for children in Kazan. More than 94,700 people have visited it since the beginning of the year. Among the main productions is “Aviator”, thanks to which Ekiyat became a three-time winner of the Russian national theatre award Golden Mask, the press service of the theatre told Realnoe Vremya.
The most visited period of the puppet theatre can be called New Year's weeks — over 20,000 spectators attended the performances. Excursions are also very popular among citizens — more than 6,000 tourists visited Ekiyat in a month and a half after the closing of the season.
The theatre does not have a target audience as such, since Ekiyat has a repertoire for toddlers and older children, as well as for teenagers, youth and adult viewers. There is also a separate direction — baby theatre. These are performances for the youngest children, who are still too early to go to the auditorium.
One of the oldest theatres in Kazan
One of the oldest theatres in Kazan is the Bolshoi Drama Theatre named after Kachalov — this year it has opened its 234th season. Its repertoire includes 36 performances, 26 of them are performed on the main stage, and 10 — on the small stage.
The press service of the Kachalov Theatre told Realnoe Vremya that since the beginning of the year it has been visited by more than 106,000 spectators. Both old productions — Fiddler on the Roof, The Queen of Spades, and recent premieres — Hamlet, The Inspector General, The Thieves' Ball and others are still in demand.
It is difficult to identify a period of time in which there is a special audience interest, since the it is always a full house at the theatre. The most popular categories of viewers are from 18 to 25 years old and from 35 to 50 years old.
Winner of the nomination “For involvement in the fate of the country and the search for a national hero”
Another popular place of cultural leisure among Kazan residents is the Kariev Theatre, which this year, for the first time in its history, became the winner of the Golden Mask Theatre Award. It received the award for the play The Adventures of Rustem in the special nomination “For involvement in the fate of the country and the search for a national hero”.
The press service of the organisation told Realnoe Vremya that about 34,600 people have visited the theatre this year. The most popular productions are White Flowers. Reflection, My Lucky Day, Alifba: in the Land of Letters.
Abdul Razuev: “Independent projects do more”
A graduate student of the Russian Institute of Theatrical Art GITIS and director Abdul Razuev told Realnoe Vremya that once, when GITIS students met with the rais of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, and the rector of the university, Grigory Zaslavsky, students proposed to make one of the cities of Tatarstan the theater capital of the Volga Region. Then this idea was supported.
“We have an excellent cultural policy in relation to theatres. We see that new theatres are being built, “Artisans” have been built in Naberezhnye Chelny, now a new theatre is being built for Galiaskar Kamal Theatre, so there is undoubtedly development. But if we compare it with Moscow or Perm, then we have no theatrical audience in Kazan and Tatarstan. Therefore, of course, it is difficult to compare and correlate the culture of different cities, given that it is also divided into pop, underground and official culture," the director noted.
Abdul Razuev added that any sporting event is accompanied by cultural events, that is, openings and various shows are held. But this applies only to federal holidays. He added that often the same artists participate in some types of celebrations. In his opinion, independent projects move culture much more than state ones, because artists, directors and the program rarely undergo changes in them.
“All sorts of MONs, new stars who perform in Uram Park, a new youth branch, a new school of Tatar culture do much more for development than everything else combined, if compared with a conservatory or something else. That is, KazGIK (Kazan State Institute of Culture — ed.) and the conservatory do not produce large-scale specialists. But the fact that there are more international and world-wide sports events than some cultural ones is, of course, a fact," Abdul Razuev summed up.
Ruzal Mukhametshin: “The body is the priority, not the soul”
Tatar poet Ruzal Mukhametshin told Realnoe Vremya that, in his opinion, Kazan theatres feel quite comfortable, despite that more attention is paid to sports in the capital of the republic.
“Let's recall at least the level of organisation of the Games of the Futureor the BRICS Games... There is such a moment: the priority is the body, not the soul," the poet said.
Ruzal Mukhametshin added that the bias in the development of Kazan towards sports since the World Summer Universiade is quite understandable. Then the capital of Tatarstan loudly declared itself and became the centre of attraction for such competitions. And every global event requires appropriate infrastructure: sports facilities, arenas, roads, and so on.
“On the other hand, it is also wrong to say that culture is completely deprived of attention and finances. This also applies to infrastructure: in recent years, the city's cultural centres, the buildings of the Kachalov, Kariev theatres, the Opera and Ballet Theatre, and the Russian Youth Theatre have been beautifully renovated. Now a new grandiose building of the Kamalov Theatre is being built. Its opening is expected soon. The main thing is that both these and other objects should be in demand, not empty, and give people joy," the poet summed up.
Thus, despite Kazan's great attention to sports and its infrastructure, cultural events remain the most popular entertainment among Kazan residents. Thus, by August, the largest stadium in the capital of the republic was visited by about 93,600 people as part of the football games. While the productions of the Kamal Theatre were watched by more than 110,000 viewers in the first four months alone.
Experts also confirm that culture in Kazan is not deprived in any way, moreover, sometimes cultural events take place in parallel with sports events. For example, in the form of opening and closing ceremonies of competitions. As Ruzal Mukhametshin noted, the main thing was that the facilities were in demand and gave people joy.