Mikhail Levitin, artistic director of the Hermitage Theater, has decided to pay tribute to Odessa, the town where he spent his youth. As a result, the theater now has a new play that some people jokingly call "the play of three Odessans" since the famous comedian, Mikhail Zhvanetsky, wrote it, Levitin directed it and David Borovsky designed the set.

"Russian Lessons" is a kaleidoscope of funny and sad everyday scenes – weddings, introductions, funerals – which are reminiscent of the unique atmosphere that helped Odessa become an integral part of the annals of history. This is the Odessa of the second half of the 20th century, the one most people know from anecdotes, movies and numerous literary works. In recreating the atmosphere of the period, Borovsky installed several transparent screens on stage. One of them appears to have an outline of the city’s streets and famous Opera Theater. The rest of the screens seem to have the static image of brick walls. On closer examination it becomes clear that the walls are made not from bricks, but rather from handwritten letters.

Although the play has an array of characters, the most outstanding are an eccentric and worldly wise Russian teacher (Boris Romanov) and his young, curious student (Arseny Kovalsky). They give us practical lessons in the ways of the world, vividly illustrating the distinctive realm of communal living with its intertwined relationships and unique characters.

The moment any of the characters does no more than appear on the stage, the audience immediately senses its fate, which is full of loneliness, love and an overwhelming desire to be happy. All of a sudden, we start to feel nostalgic for a town where all the residents used to live as one big happy family, concerned for one another as they would for themselves. This irrevocably lost atmosphere is exactly what the two Mikhails – Zhvanetsky and Levitin – are longing for. Everyone in the audience is sure to share this feeling.

The next performance is Dec.22.

Hermitage Theater.
3 Karetny Ryad.
Metro: Pushkinskaya.
Tel: 209-2076.