Theatrical festival "Specific" attracted more than 7,500 spectators in Nizhny Novgorod.

      The third theater festival “Specifik” was held in Nizhny Novgorod and was attended by more than 7,500 people — ticketed spectators and passersby. During the festival there were over 50 performances on 10 city venues: plays, events in the “Experiment” block, and educational actions. Nine theater directors and more than 70 actors and performers took part in the festival. The project was implemented with grant support from the “Team of Creative Practices” of ANO “Center 800” and is organized by the CTM theater.

      In the first part of “Specifik,” from August 1 to 3, audiences saw the production Without a Dowry staged on a barge moored to the Volga bank (dir. Nadya Kubailat), The Philistines in the closed Etazhi shopping center (dir. Yaroslav Zhevnerov), and The Pit on the façade of the Stolby tea house (dir. Artem Ustinov). Those interested also attended lectures on creative rethinking of the city, organized jointly with the team of the “Urban Expeditions” project.

      During the second weekend of “Specifik” — from August 8 to 10 — the main block performances took place: The Mermaid in the operating and summer-drained Dolphin pool (dir. Ekaterina Polovtseva), Kalina Krasnaya at the Oka yacht club (dir. Konstantin Soya), and Uncle Vanya in the courtyard of the Ryabinina estate (dir. Viktoria Pechernikova). Events of the “Experiment” program were also held: “A Block Hidden in Foliage” — a documentary-performative tour in the Krasny Prosveshchenets neighborhood (dir. Nikita Vasiliev), “Random” — a performance-installation inside the Stolby tea house (dir. Ivan Kurkin), and “Phys‑Ed” — a participatory performance on the sports ground of the Nizhny Novgorod Orthodox Gymnasium (dir. Dmitry Mulkov). In addition, in the courtyard of Nizhpoligraf there were physical performances by the MONOLOG.LAB laboratory (director‑choreographer Igor Sharoyko, choreographer-stager Marina Kherolyants) and the festival opening concert “Sirinema” (director and composer Ramzan Yunusov), and a party in honor of the “Specifik” festival took place at the Ceylon bistro.

      The directors of the main block worked with the historical and social context of their venues, embedding resonant textual material from Russian classics into them. Each director, following the text, emphasized their own methods and decisions — authorial interpretation of the text, new dramaturgy inspired by the original works, a more classical approach, as well as new theatrical methods and interdisciplinary formats.

      “Specifik reveals the city and theater from new sides. We highly appreciate that many of our viewers are open to this new experience, to unusual formats and to visiting places that are atypical for theater. The festival tells stories that resonate with very different audiences through personal associations, memories, and emotional experiences,” said the festival’s founder and general producer Evgeny Pykhtin.

      He gave examples: Ekaterina Polovtseva, in her Mermaid, worked extensively with movement, dance, and sound. The show took place in the Dolphin pool, whose unique acoustics added mystique and a fairy-tale quality to the action. In addition, the director experimented with visual metaphors through props — multi-meter polyethylene film imitating the waves of the Dnieper, ropes and nets — and through the space itself — the sterility of the tiled pool basin and the absence of water (life). Nadya Kubailat in Without a Dowry drew a parallel between the heroine’s vulnerability to circumstances and the gigantic cargo vessel — the barge on which the action unfolded. The theme of trade also became significant in the production — Larisa is likened to merchandise, as if she has no will of her own, and the audience sympathizes with her.

      In turn, Yaroslav Zhevnerov offered his own reinterpretation of Gorky’s text — his The Philistines was staged amid the empty pavilions of the closed Etazhi shopping center, which for many Nizhny Novgorod residents is associated with family outings and the prosperous 2010s. In the authorial text, Gorky’s story was rethought, and the problem of communication between generations was expressed in a language relevant for 2025.

      “Each production and event of the ‘Specifik’ festival is a unique authorial view on contemporary theater and a specific location in Nizhny, its own artistic methods and narrative. The city determines the script on the festival. We work in an extreme environment, because in the city, on the street, anything can happen; our project involves spectators in an adventure. We amplify the urban context and the images that the city itself provides through artistic techniques,” added Evgeny Pykhtin.

      Background:

      Site-specific — an art method, a direction in art in which artistic works (installations, performances, plays, etc.) are realized in a specific place.

      “Specifik” — a theater festival in the city whose stages become unexpected venues in Nizhny Novgorod: mansions, stadiums, whole streets, factories, rivers, etc. The festival stages classics and experimental productions. In 2024 “Specifik” was attended by more than 5,000 spectators. In addition to target audiences, thousands of passersby interact with the festival. “Specifik” became a highlight of the “Cultural Capital 2024” program and was nominated for the “Made in Russia” award by Snob magazine.

      The Center for Theatrical Mastery (CTM) — an independent theater in Nizhny Novgorod. The theatrical venue has existed since September 2016. Its founders are Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, teacher, director and actor of the Nizhny Novgorod State Academic Drama Theater named after M. Gorky Alexander Suchkov and actor of the Komediya theater Evgeny Pykhtin. The space was created by them with their own funds and the funds of concerned Nizhny Novgorod residents and patrons with the aim of promoting contemporary theater in Nizhny Novgorod.

      Press release

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      Theater festival “Specifik” gathered more than 7,500 spectators in Nizhny Novgorod

      Photo: festival organizers

      The third theater festival “Specifik” took place in Nizhny Novgorod. 18:35 12.08.2025 Vremya N - Nizhny Novgorod

      Theater festival “Specifik” gathered more than 7,500 spectators in Nizhny Novgorod

      The third theater festival “Specifik” was held in Nizhny Novgorod; it was attended by more than 7,500 people — ticketed viewers and ordinary passersby. 18:00 12.08.2025 NTA-Privolzhye - Nizhny Novgorod

      Theater festival “Specifik” gathered more than 7,500 spectators in Nizhny Novgorod

      Photo: organizers of the “Specifik” festival

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