Published on: 2026-10-02
Source: Moscow Government – Правительства Москвы –
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One of the premieres of the new season on Satire Theater, supervised by the city Department of Culture, is a play based on the work of contemporary playwright Vladimir Malyshev. “Garbage King” On the stage of the “Attic of Satire,” Honored Artist of Russia Vladimir Skvortsov performed.
The story of an ordinary person
The plot revolves around an ordinary university professor Ivan Petrovich Sidorov: he is over 40, his wife recently left him, and ahead lies an existential crisis and uncertainty about how to continue living. After receiving a certain sum following the divorce, the protagonist decides to go on a cruise he had dreamed about for many years. One incident on board changes his entire life and triggers a chain of events—funny, sad, and sometimes completely unexpected.
“This is the living story of an ordinary person who really wants everything to be fine for him,” said actor Kirill Anisimov, who plays Ivan Petrovich in one of the casts. “But of course, in the end, he realizes that no matter how far you go, you still carry all your inner baggage with you. You can’t run away from yourself.”
By fate’s will, the hero ends up on one of the garbage islands drifting in the ocean. A garbage island is a collection of plastic and household waste, lacking a solid surface, so it is impossible to stand on it as on land. However, the playwright not only makes this possible but also populates the island with natives who are completely isolated from civilization, live by their own primitive laws, and are terrified of thunderstorms to death.
Over time, Ivan Petrovich and the islanders develop mutual affection, and the hero himself finds love here — the local beauty Taonga.
Terrible reality show
However, soon their feelings face a severe test: the island becomes the filming location for a reality show centered around the “New Robinson.” This duality is emphasized by the set design: the stage is split in half, and as the platform rotates, the audience sees either a wild, trash-covered island or a pavilion with cameras.
According to actress Lana Krymova, she shares liveliness and inner freedom with Taonga — this greatly helped in working on the role. Vladimir Skvortsov encouraged the actors to develop their own individual traits, which ultimately formed the basis of the characters’ personalities.
“Taonga at the beginning of the show is a sincere, naive person who does not know temptations, technology, money, or social networks. Entering the show, she discovers another world that destroys all that is real in her. This is very frightening — to forget who you are and what love is behind all the tinsel,” noted Lana Krymova.
Actors believe: there are no filler scenes in this play — the dense plot constantly keeps the audience on edge, and the series of emotional events captivates the characters no less than the audience.
“Every scene is important in its own way and, like a brick, builds the finale where the character overcomes the crisis and realizes: a new stage of life is beginning, in which something good will definitely happen,” Kirill Anisimov added.
A Sad Comedy
The play “Garbage King” is based on the eponymous play by Vladimir Malyshev. According to the theater’s artistic director Yevgeny Gerasimov, he was primarily attracted by the very narrative style:
“I liked the author’s language, and I immediately thought that this play could be turned into a very unexpected and interesting performance. There’s a lot in the play: I like this brilliantly constructed dramaturgy, reflections on people and life, and the warm subtle humor.”
He defines the genre of the production as a sad comedy, where the funny coexists with the serious. The humor is expressed in details: for example, when the reality show host awkwardly makes her way across the island to the main character, or in the scene of his meeting with Taonga, where she touchingly utters a word that sounds like the word “massage.”
But the main thing here is the dramatic storyline of Ivan Petrovich. He desperately tries to find a foothold in the world of shows and social networks, which are taking love away from him, and turns to his past: even the image of his mother, whom he talks to in his mind, seems more real to him than the reality offered by the glossy world.
“In the finale, he concludes that people spend a lot of time on intrigues, quarrels, unnecessary glitter — completely not on what we were born for,” believes Kirill Anisimov.
Next time performance can be seen on October 10 and 30.
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