Country of three-centimetre citizens: the Lilikan state at the exposition at the National Centre RUSSIA
The "Legacy. Theatre. The Greats" exposition at
the National Centre RUSSIA is hosting some extraordinary characters — Lilikan
puppets from the Moscow Shadow Theatre ("Ten'"). They are inhabitants
of the fictional country of Lilikaniya, which has existed for almost thirty
years as a creative project of Moscow's smallest theatre stage. The puppets are
presented in the "Puppet Workshop" section of the large-scale
exposition project marking the 150th anniversary of the Theatre Union of Russia
and implemented with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian
Federation and the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives.
The country of Lilikaniya was created in the mid-1990s by the founders of the
Shadow Theatre, married stage directors Maya Krasnopolskaya and Ilya Epelbaum.
According to the legend, the Lilikans are a little-known people from the
distant island of Milikar. Like the inhabitants of any state, they have their
own capital, form of government, history, ideology and even an official
website, where veliputs — the Lilikan name for us humans — are offered tourist
visas and citizenship.
But the main difference between this tiny state and our world is that culture lies at the heart of everything. For the Lilikans, theatre is the most important art form. For many years, the Grand Royal Lilikan Theatre of Drama, Opera and Ballet has been "touring" on the stage of Moscow's Shadow Theatre. Puppets just 2–3 centimetres tall perform entire productions and captivate veliputs of all ages with their art. To see the performance, however, audiences have to look through special windows — otherwise the miniature actors would be impossible to make out.
Tiny puppets, big ideas and the magic of theatre that fits in the palm of your
hand — all this awaits visitors to the "Legacy. Theatre. The Greats"
exposition. The Lilikans can be seen at the National Centre RUSSIA until 25
September. Admission to the exposition is free. Advance registration on the
russia.ru website is required for guided tours.
On Monday, 17 August, the National Centre RUSSIA will be closed to visitors due to scheduled maintenance work.
Russian Air Fleet Day is celebrated on 16 August — a professional holiday for people whose lives are connected with aviation.
A Russian folk tale is not only a collection of magical adventures, but also a subtle "portrait" of the national character.
