The National Centre RUSSIA invites visitors to the exposition "Legacy. Theatre. The Greats"

For many decades, Russian theatre has remained one of the country’s foremost cultural symbols and has earned worldwide recognition thanks to its outstanding directors, designers, actors and stage professionals. The large-scale exposition "Legacy. Theatre. The Greats" will open at the National Centre RUSSIA on 28 July, marking the 150th anniversary of the Union of Theatre Workers of the Russian Federation. The project is being implemented with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives.

Guests will see how a production is created, meet the people who work behind the scenes to create theatrical magic and discover a new perspective on the history of Russian theatre. The exposition will be open to visitors from 16:00 on 28 July, subject to advance registration.

Every theatrical production is the result of the work of dozens of specialists. Audiences, however, usually see only the actors who appear on stage. The new exposition offers visitors a glimpse behind the scenes and an introduction to designers, property makers, stage technicians, design engineers, costume designers, make-up artists, lighting technicians, puppetry artists and many other professionals whose work brings every production to life.

The exposition will bring together more than 600 exhibits from 118 theatrical organisations across 30 regions of Russia. They include original sets, stage machinery, costumes, masks, stage objects, props, theatrical puppets, archival materials, rare posters, photographs, handwritten scripts and books from the eighteenth century. Visitors will see the legendary puppet compere Eduard Aplombov from the production "An Extraordinary Concert", the miniature inhabitants of the Lillikan Kingdom, costumes designed from sketches by Nadezhda Lamanova and Vyacheslav Zaitsev, and large-scale stage objects that formed part of celebrated theatrical productions for many years.

Among the most impressive exhibits will be the four-metre "Elephant" from the production "The Scarlet Flower", the imposing fence of the Tsar’s palace from "Princess Nesmeyana", the dragon boat from "Three Lotuses", and the britzka carriage and stage horse from the opera "Eugene Onegin". All these objects present the world of theatre not only as an art form but also as a unique combination of engineering ingenuity and craftsmanship.

The exposition route is designed as a promenade tour. Visitors will enter the theatre through a symbolic stage door, learn how the theatrical world works and follow the entire journey of creating a production, from the work of the artistic and technical workshops to taking the stage. Each section features themed interactive exhibits through which guests will learn how lighting technicians, production designers and sound engineers work, and try their hand as costume designers, make-up artists or puppet makers.

The project spans the entire country, from Moscow and St Petersburg to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, and from Kudymkar to Cherkessk. More than 70 theatres, major museums and archives have joined forces to tell the story of Russian theatre as a "union of happy people" — those for whom the stage has become their life’s work.

The exposition will run from 28 July to 25 September. Admission is free with advance registration on the website of the National Centre RUSSIA. The guided tour lasts 70 minutes.