I like Ostrovsky’s plays. They’re so contemporary, it seems you only need to change the name of the town, dress the characters in modern clothes and replace the old-fashioned turns of phase and you’d never guess that it’s all set in the century before last. This eternal modernity of Ostrovsky’s plays is especially true of “Talents and Admirers”, which I saw recently at the Satire Theatre.

Both during and after the play my friends and I discussed how time moves on, the centuries come and go, yet so much remains unchanged: relations between people, differences of opinion, the division of society not only into rich and poor, but also into groups of people with different values…It’s all so true of today’s Russia as well. And it probably always will be true, and that’s the secret of Ostrovsky’s plays.

But it’s not just the content, but the form of these plays that’s such a success. His astonishingly beautiful use of Russian and the vivid characters – even in the smallest role the actor always has something to play! What a pleasure it was to see on stage the divine and charming Vera Vasilyeva - a heroine who is both practical and frivolous.

Or Mikhail Derzhavin (Narokov), who throws himself into the theatrical action with such abandon. The acting was all superb. A huge thank-you to everyone involved in the play. Going to the theatre is such a delight! It’s just a pity that it’s getting harder and harder to find time for it. If you haven’t seen the play, I recommend it. You won‘t regret going!