CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Russian Theatre Stages "The Cherry Orchard" Using Minecraft

The Theatre Times: The “ironic, but reliable” version recreates the theater experience in the finest details.

The Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theater in St. Petersburg (not to be confused with the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow) staged a brief version of The Cherry Orchard, a famous play by Russian dramatist and playwright Anton Chekhov. A highly poetic and sad story about a disappearing class of Russian gentry, who are losing the usual way of life because of economic and financial hardship has now been staged within the popular online game Minecraft, and the unusual performance was streamed live on YouTube.

1 comment:

greenbowbear said...

I just know this article is gonna be a hit on cmublogspot. I love when theatre is put on in interesting and innovative ways, and Minecraft is great too! I watched a bit of the video attached showing the interior of the theatre and the performance, and what struck me was the use of Minecraft to elevate the play in certain ways. What the show didn’t have in lighting or detailed set design was made up with potion effects, redstone mechanics, etc.
Minecraft is definitely a silly way to present theatre, but it lowers access to theatre in a very real way. I’ve seen other examples of theatre online: zoom shows, other sandbox video game shows, etc, and it is always great to see how many want to participate. Theatre is such a great art form, but it takes time and money and effort to see and work on shows. Video games like Minecraft can help introduce people to the magical world of theatre.