Description of the attraction
St. Petersburg Theater "Ostrov" is located on Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt in the building of the Benois House. It was founded in 1990 by a creative team of actors, headed by A. V. Bolotin. The premiere performance based on Nabokov's play "Invitation to Execution" was unanimously recognized by critics as the best production of the year. This performance immediately made it clear that the troupe of the Ostrov theater is looking for an opportunity for creative self-realization through serious, deep, philosophical performances. The theater is not looking for easy success, but wants to talk with the audience, reflect on problems, seek answers to eternal questions.
At first, the troupe did not have its own hall; it played on the stages of other theaters. Most of the money was given for renting premises. Despite financial difficulties, the team staged 3 more performances: Hamlet, The New Return of a Stray Dog, Guilty Without Guilt, which confirmed the first impression of the Ostrov Theater as a serious and multifaceted creative phenomenon in the cultural life of the city.
For six years the theater did not have its own home, and thanks to the assistance of the mayor's office, the collective found its premises in a semi-basement room on Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt. In order for the spectators to come here, it was necessary to make serious repairs: to change all engineering communications that had not changed for many years and became completely unusable, remove pipes, fix leaks, rust, tidy up the walls, glaze the windows.
For the troupe, which found its home, a new period of testing began. It was necessary to find builders, designers and, most importantly, money for major repairs. The actors were helped by the deputies of the Legislative Assembly of the city, who adopted a legislative act on the beginning of financing cultural institutions and exempting them from taxes. After the project was completed, all the necessary approvals were carried out, repair work began. But the construction company, which made them without terminating the contract, stopped working. The theater staff was forced to apply to the arbitration court. However, despite the decision in favor of the "Island", the money was never returned to the theater. I had to look for funding sources again. Serious help was rendered to the theater and ordinary townspeople, who brought furniture, fabric, paid utility bills. This support helped the troupe to survive. The problem with the repair was finally solved after the personal help of the deputy A. Belousov, he allocated funds for the completion of the repair from his personal fund.
Since the founding of the Ostrov theater, T. Isaeva and Yu. Ageikin have been members of the troupe. The permanent head of the theater, Honored Art Worker of Russia - Alexander Vladimirovich Bolonin. The troupe includes more than twenty actors who, in addition to working in this theater, play in other theaters, act on television and in films.
During its life, the theater's repertoire included more than twenty performances based on the works of Shakespeare, Nabokov, Volodin, Bulgakov, Shtemler.
Playwright A. M. Volodin, who died in 2001, has been a regular contributor and friend and fan of the Ostrov Theater since its inception. In 2004, the Ostrov theater became the founder of the Alexandra Volodin. The commemorative statuette is a miniature bronze sculpture of Boris Pasternak, who was Volodin's favorite poet.
In the theater building, in the foyer, there is a cozy museum called Volodin's Living Room. Here are photographs of the playwright, memories of people who knew him personally, a desk, a table lamp, Volodin's typewriter. The memory of the playwright is sacredly kept not only by the theater actors, but also by everyone who is close to them in spirit. At the initiative of A. Bolonin, the chief director of The Island, and I. Shtemler, the playwright, in 2004, a memorial plaque was erected on A. Volodin's house, the authors of the project of which are the architect T. Milaradovich and the sculptor G. Yastrebenetsky.
