June 22, 2020

The Show Must Go On


The Show Must Go On
Our Minecraft skills aren't nearly this impressive. Screenshot, YouTube, G.A. Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theater.

St. Petersburg's G.A. Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theater, faced with the impossibility of performing during the coronavirus pandemic, found an inventive way to show their abridged version of one of Anton Chekhov's masterpieces.

The theater used the extremely popular online game Minecraft to perform the show, with actors speaking in real-time as their online avatars moved across the stage. While only 90 attendees were able to fit in the in-game theater, many more joined the broadcast on the theater's YouTube page.

The theater, costumes, stage, and set were all painstakingly recreated in the online game. The performance was complete with all the hallmarks of Russian dramatic arts: three chimes to mark the start of the show, a reminder that recording in the theater was prohibited, and an admonition to turn off one's phone.

See the show, and a short tour of the meticulously-recreated virtual theater, here.

Minecraft has certainly found its use in the midst of the pandemic; one of Moscow's most prestigious universities has also turned to the online game to allow students to meet.

Meanwhile, we're still using wooden pickaxes.

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

Fish
February 01, 2010

Fish

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955