Lenkom celebrates a milestone this year, marking the 130th anniversary of the poet’s birth with a bold, imaginative stage project titled Mayakovsky. In this production, the performer Alexei Frandetti leads the audience through a live experience that blends the energy of contemporary theater with the lyrical and biographical richness of Vladimir Mayakovsky’s life. The music and lyrics come from the renowned rapper Basta, whose real name is Vasily Vakulenko. This collaboration promises a bridge between classic literary heritage and modern urban sound, a fusion that critics describe as a musical meeting point between past and present. A notable theatre publication covered the premiere plans, underscoring the distinctive approach of the show.
Frandetti remarked that Vasily Vakulenko’s artistry mirrors Mayakovsky’s own creative vigor. He described the collaboration as a natural alignment where Basta’s musical voice and Mayakovsky’s poetic sensibility meet. The performer suggested that Vakulenko brings a writerly insight to the stage, one that amplifies the timeless resonance of Mayakovsky while pushing the form in new directions. This synergy, according to Frandetti, creates a temporary but powerful bridge that helps audiences experience Mayakovsky in a living, breathing context. The work is positioned as more than a concert or a biopic; it is a musical interpretation that invites reflection on Mayakovsky’s influence and the continuing relevance of his words in modern culture.
The production is described as a musical drama built around Mayakovsky’s life stories. The creative team emphasizes that the poetry and the poet’s biography serve as the foundation for a fresh stage language and a new dramatic genre. By weaving personal episodes from Mayakovsky’s biography with his verse, the show seeks to give audiences an immersive sense of the poet as a dynamic, restless artist whose ideas still spark conversations about art, society, and the role of the poet in public life. The result is presented as an original synthesis that blends narrative, lyric intensity, and musical orchestration to illuminate Mayakovsky’s era through a contemporary lens.
Vakulenko explained that his fascination with Mayakovsky began after his involvement in a documentary about the poet. This entry into Mayakovsky’s world offered a chance to study the poet’s language, rhythm, and courage, and those elements found their way into the music and the performance. For Vakulenko, the Mayakovsky project represents a significant milestone, a moment where a legendary stage environment and a culturally rich project intersect. The musician described Lenkom as a legendary venue whose atmosphere enhances the sense of discovery and spontaneity that characterizes the show. The production team, he noted, leans into the poet’s appetite for creativity, his fearless experimentation, and his generous spirit toward listeners and readers alike, all of which fuel the show’s emotional intensity and artistic ambition.
The preview screenings are scheduled for July 19, 20, and 21, inviting audiences to experience the evolving concept ahead of a broader run. These early performances are framed as critical opportunities to gauge response and refine the integration of live music, spoken word, and biographical narrative. Viewers can expect a performance that feels like a cross between a concert, a dramatic portrait, and a literary homage—an encounter designed to reintroduce Mayakovsky to a modern audience without sacrificing the poet’s essential voice and turning points in his life. The production team has emphasized pacing and energy, planning the musical drama as a sequence of vivid vignettes that connect the poet’s inner life with social and historical moments that shaped his work.
The news about the concert circuit in Nizhny Novgorod adds a contrasting note to the cultural calendar. A previously announced Big Baby Band concert there has been canceled, a reminder that live entertainment schedules are dynamic and dependent on a range of factors. The Lenkom Mayakovsky project remains a centerpiece, drawing attention for its cross-genre, cross-era approach and for the collaboration between a storied theatre, a cutting-edge musician, and a literary icon whose words continue to spark curiosity and conversation among audiences in Russia and beyond. The public and critics alike will be watching how this ambitious concept translates on stage, and what it might reveal about Mayakovsky’s enduring appeal in the 21st century.