The play begins with the appearance of the mischievous wizard Ole Lukaie, who reveals his magic colored umbrella, telling fairy tales and adventures of Andersen's characters so that young spectators and their parents take their breath away. Or rather, there were many umbrellas at once, one of them Ole Lukaie in an elegant camisole opened before the audience, others moved around the stage like giant wheels, and others slowly floated above the audience. The production includes three other stories, The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep, The Flowers of Little Ida, and The Tin Soldier. The stage is elegantly and richly decorated, and the audience was immersed in the magical atmosphere of the performance even before the play began. The interior of the ancient mansion with a big fireplace and a clock was supplemented with giant chandeliers, H.H. Andersen's portrait, massive book of fairy tales and majestic two-meter throne hinted to the fact that the audience will see a very unordinary performance.
In many scenes of the performance, the victory over gravity was complete and unconditional. Imagine a living puppet walking through the air with only a fluttering light shawl under her feet. There were other no less amazing metamorphoses with the same heroine. As soon as she hid in a mysterious box, hollow pipes of impressive diameter were inserted on all sides, so that even for a thin girl there was absolutely no room inside. But then she emerged from her confinement in one piece. The trick with the paper dancer from "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" struck the imagination even more. Here she disappeared behind the clock - and just a moment later materialized in a closed wooden cage on all sides in a completely different part of the stage.
The play "Magic Umbrella" can rightly be considered one of the most beautiful children's performances in the capital. It is a riot of colors and fireworks of bright emotions. The novel "Flowers of Little Ida" is a carnival with intricate dances, funny songs and unusual costumes of houseplants. What is happening on stage is successfully supplemented by video on the LED screen, as if opening a door into another dimension, but at the same time does not contradict the color scheme and stylistics of the fairy tale decoration. Surprisingly beautiful fairy tale costumes of characters cause delight and applause.
All of the stories in the play are united on the principle of toys coming to life before the eyes of the audience. Children learn to look at their favorite toy soldiers, puppets and porcelain Chinese dumplings with entirely different eyes. Little spectators joined the actors in juggling with the luminous stars in the sky.
Foto - Alexand VAVILOV
