Alexei Merkoushev started his professional acting career in Theatre
Avia in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad) in 1986. In 1987 Anton
Adassinski founded Theatre Derevo with him and with other independent
actors. He worked in Theatre Derevo for more than ten years, which
period largely shaped his work.
In 1991 he established his own Theatre OF in St. Petersburg, and since
1994 he has been working together with the Italian theatre company
Guoscone.
Since 1997 he has mostly been working on his solo performances.
A small boy on the way to the school. Suddenly, first time on this way,
he recognises some open gates behind which he sees a lot of strange and
beautiful flowers and trees with fascinating smells and vivid colours.
He immediately wants to enter but, because he is already late for
school, he decides to come back after the lessons.
When he returns later, the gates are firmly closed.
After some sadness, he forgets about this story and just years later,
when he goes to get married, he again sees this garden and goes inside.
Happy and full of light feelings, he wants to go further, deeper
inside, but he thinks that it is better to come back later and to live
there in happiness.
Later he comes back but he just can't remember where the gates were.
And life goes on.
Sometimes he recalls and tries to find 'his' garden but without success.
After long years, almost at the end of his life, with weak steps he
seems to get closer to some familiar place. It is like a wonder: he is
supposed to arrive at the realisation of his desire.
The gates, the garden, the smells, everything is there ...
But before he can really enter the gate, his old heart stops and he dies.
The irresistible tragic of this story inspired the performance.
|