On 26 October at 19.00, the Theatre House “Jūras vārti” will host the musical performance “That’s It!” by M. Chekhov Riga Russian Theatre, dedicated to the legendary musician Viktor Tsoi and featuring his songs.
The cast will include Alexander Malikov, Yekaterina Frolova, Maxim Busel, Nikita Osipov, Olga Nikulina, Rodion Kuzmin, Tatyana Lukashenkova, Veronika Plotnikova, Vitaly Yakovlev, Konstantin Nikulin, Evilena Protektore and musicians Vladimir Tuzov, Dmitry Karpov, Anton Visotsky and Julia Savelyeva. Directed by Roman Smirnov.
Last year, the famous singer and musician, leader of the band “Kino”, Viktor Tsoi, would have turned 60. To mark the occasion, the M. Chekhov Riga Russian Drama Theatre staged a musical play “That’s It!”, dedicated to the man who was one of the legends of the 20th century.
Viktor Tsoi’s talent blossomed in the 1980s. The strong anti-war sentiment, the palpable individual resistance to the system, the deeply individual colour of his experiences, the strong and vivid lyricism, the bold and memorable musical solutions that were unique to the band “Kino”, were in tune with the spirit of change of that time. Today, the songs of Viktor Tsoi and “Kino”, already beloved by many, are regaining their relevance and, in a sense, a second wind.
The performance includes 20 songs performed by the Theatre’s artists. The well-known theatre director Roman Smirnov, who knew Viktor Tsoi, his family, friends and colleagues personally in his life, will combine the subjects of these songs into a single polyphonic narrative, accompanied by video material of the artists and their friends connected with Viktor Tsoi.
Director Roman Smirnov admits that when he created the production, he did not want to impose his own concept on the actors, which he had invented in the kitchen, but rather to create this performance, to rehearse it together: “Of course, I knew what I wanted, what the end result should be, but I like to compose plays together with the actors. The name of Tsoi has been covered in legends and myths over the years, so it was important to scratch a little bit of that layer, because underneath there are real, true feelings. Sometimes burning, but more often naive. That’s what I really wanted to dig into. That was the main task for all of us.”
Viktor Tsoi was born in 1962 in Leningrad (now St Petersburg), played bass guitar in a rock band at the Art High School as a teenager, and at the age of 19 formed his own band with like-minded people, which later became “Kino”. Tsoi and “Kino” gradually gained more and more popularity, not only among young people, but among free-thinkers in general. The security services also took a keen interest in the musician, which is why his tragic death remains shrouded in mystery. The official version is that on 15 August 1990, just after midnight, Viktor Tsoi, driving a Moskvich – 2141 on the Sloka-Talsi road, fell asleep at the wheel, drove into the opposite lane, crashed into an Ikarus-250 bus, and died at the scene…
The performance in Ventspils is organised by SIA “Kurzemes filharmonija” and financed by the Ventspils State City Municipality. Tickets can be purchased at “Biļešu paradīze” outlets, as well as at the box offices of the Theatre House “Jūras vārti” and the Concert Hall “Latvija”.
Please be informed that during public events, photography will be taken to ensure openness of information and publicity. Photos may be posted on the website and social media accounts of the Theatre House “Jūras vārti”.
