The theater itself appeared in 1931, and at first consisted of one Sergei Obraztsov. The actor showed puppet shows, hiding behind a screen. Gradually, the theater grew, and he was given a building on Mayakovka.
It used to house a classical theater and the puppeteers had to adapt. Sergey Obraztsov petitioned for his own house for a long time. Finally, in the 1960s, he received a semi-abandoned building on the Garden Ring and turned it into a puppet theater.
Shortly before this, Obraztsov had been in Prague. There he saw the famous medieval clock with several dials, near which a crowd of spectators gathers every hour. Therefore, the facade of the Obraztsov Theater was decorated with doll clocks by D.M. Shakhovsky. Every hour, one of the twelve doors opens, and a fairy-tale character appears from there. He greets passers-by under "In the garden, in the garden ..." in the processing of N. Bogoslovsky. All puppets come out at noon and midnight.
To see this clock, a lot of spectators always gather near the building of the Obraztsov Theater around noon. Previously, the clock rang at night, but residents complained about the noise, and now the clock observes the sound mode.
In 1937, the Theater Puppet Museum was opened at the Obraztsov Theatre. Its collection is considered to be one of the best in the world, with more than 5,000 exhibits. The museum displays puppets of the world's peoples, puppets, glove puppets, tantamaresques, and even Korean water puppets (they float on floats, and the actors control the puppets with long poles).
The hallmark of the Sergei Obraztsov Puppet Theater is still the play "An Extraordinary Concert". It has been running since 1946.
There are many different famous clocks in Moscow, but the clock on the building of the puppet theater named after. Obraztsova differ significantly from their "colleagues" in a rather extravagant look. Like others, the puppet theater clock has a not very long, but still entertaining history.
A clock appeared on the building of the puppet theater in 1970, along with the opening of the theater itself on the Garden Ring. It was a new building, which was designed and built specifically for the theater. It took into account the latest requirements of that time for stage equipment, lighting and sound equipment. But for some reason, the architects forgot one important detail: the theater begins with a hanger, or rather, with the facade of the building. The building itself was an uninteresting gray concrete building, typical of the urban Soviet style of the late 60s and early 70s. In order to somehow rectify the situation, Sergei Obraztsov, at that time the head of the Puppet Theater, decided to decorate the facade with an unusual clock.
Over the years of its existence, the Puppet Theater has toured a lot around the world, and Sergey Obraztsov has always shown great interest in various tower clocks that he saw in other cities. It was he who proposed the concept, which two sculptors undertook to implement - Pavel Shimes and Dmitry Shakhovsky, and the clockwork itself was created by Veniamin Kalmanson.
The clock has dimensions of 4 meters in height and 3 meters in length, and is a kind of ensemble of twelve houses, indicating each hour, they contain various fairy-tale puppet characters. Every hour, one or another figure appears from the corresponding house, a rooster crows and the melody of the song “In the garden, in the garden”, familiar to everyone from childhood, plays. At the same time, all the characters of the twelve houses appear twice a day - at noon and at midnight. At first, the rooster crowed every hour, including at night. But after numerous complaints from local residents who were disturbed by this, the clock was improved and they had a day and night (quiet) mode of operation.
One of the legends is connected with the figurines and the clock itself of the Puppet Theater, known to all lovers of strong alcoholic drinks. In Soviet times, alcohol was sold in stores only from 11 o'clock in the afternoon. This hour was eagerly awaited by many, who in the morning were overcome by an unpleasant feeling of a hangover. The visitors of the grocery store located nearby the Puppet Theater were also waiting for him. And now, about the onset of the long-awaited 11 o'clock, they were informed by the wolf, which "settled" in the house, replacing the number "11". The wolf had a knife in his hand. Big jokers said that the wolf waited in the wings and was preparing to cut a snack. Since then, for many years, 11 o'clock in the morning, when the sale of alcohol in the USSR began, was called the "hour of the wolf" throughout the country, precisely thanks to the clock of the Puppet Theater.
And today, like many years ago, the "Village of Animals" gathers a large number of spectators who want to see the next appearance of the dolls. Even in the age of high technology, small children look with great admiration at this seemingly simple mechanism from the past.
There are many different famous clocks in Moscow, but the clock on the building of the puppet theater named after. Obraztsova differ significantly from their "colleagues" in their rather extravagant appearance, daily gathering around them children and adults. Indeed, by the time of its creation, this musical and theatrical clock had no analogues in the whole country.
They appeared on the facade of the puppet theater building in 1970, along with the opening of the theater on the Garden Ring. During the construction of the theater, all the existing innovations of that time were taken into account - in the equipment of the theater stage, light and sound, but the facade of the building itself was an unattractive gray concrete wall, which was typical of the style of buildings of that time. However, the head of the theater decided to enliven the appearance of the theater with an unusual, huge clock.
Obraztsov came up with the idea of creating puppet clocks with figurines - fairy-tale characters who were supposed to decorate the gray facade of the new building of the puppet theater. The idea was brought to life by the sculptors Dmitry Shakhovsky and Pavel Shimes, and the mechanism was invented by Veniamin Kalmanson. A lot of money was spent on making watches. The dimensions of the unusual watch are 3 meters wide and 4 meters high. The clock itself is made of copper, stainless steel, brass and textolite. The rays of the clock, patterns and the flagpole are covered with gold leaf. All fairy-tale characters are made of fiberglass. More than 50 people painstakingly worked on the production of puppet "walkers", among them locksmiths, mechanics, chasers and goldsmiths.
The clock is a round dial around which the houses of fairy-tale heroes are randomly scattered. There are twelve houses, and, accordingly, fictional residents. So, 30 seconds before the hour, a rooster crows, turning to the assembled spectators, it crows loudly and flaps its wings. At this moment, the clock hand points to the house, the doors of which open and the figure is shown. All these actions take place to the melody familiar to everyone since childhood, arranged by N. Bogoslavsky, “In the garden, in the city.” So, in turn, corresponding to each hour, all the characters are shown one after another. At noon and midnight, twice a day, all fairy-tale characters appear together, and the viewer can see the inhabitants of the entire village.
Initially, the clock had an electromechanical device that occupied a specially designated room for it. The uninterrupted operation of the clocks was supervised by specially trained watchmakers. Their work included maintenance of the clock and the timely inclusion of a tape recording of voices corresponding to fairy-tale characters. The clock mechanism was so good that it was not inferior to the accuracy of the Kremlin chimes.
At first, the rooster crowed every hour, including at night. But after numerous complaints from local residents who were disturbed by this, the clock was improved and they had a day and night (quiet) mode of operation.
Another interesting fact is connected with this clock: in the Soviet pre-perestroika years, the sale of alcohol began at 11.00 in the morning. The men waiting for a hangover at the grocery store opposite, like children, rejoiced at the cry of a rooster at 11.00 and the appearance of a gray wolf with a knife from the house, as if cutting a snack. So the people called the cherished eleven hours "the hour of the wolf." 
You can see the famous clock and the theater itself at the address: Sadovaya-Samotechnaya st. 3, Moscow.
Today, like 40 years ago, the clock of the Obraztsov Puppet Theater gathers around itself a large number of spectators, both adults and children, who are looking forward to 12 o'clock and the appearance of all fairy-tale characters. This miniature performance, performed by puppet clocks of the last century, delights and makes people come again and again.
There are many different famous clocks in Moscow, but the clock on the building of the puppet theater named after. Obraztsova differ significantly from their "colleagues" in their rather extravagant appearance, daily gathering around them children and adults.
Indeed, by the time of its creation, this musical and theatrical clock had no analogues in the whole country. They appeared on the facade of the puppet theater building in 1970, along with the opening of the theater on the Garden Ring. During the construction of the theater, all the existing innovations of that time were taken into account - in the equipment of the theater stage, light and sound, but the facade of the building itself was an unattractive gray concrete wall, which was typical of the style of buildings of that time. However, the head of the theater decided to enliven the appearance of the theater with an unusual, huge clock. Obraztsov came up with the idea of creating puppet clocks with figurines - fairy-tale characters who were supposed to decorate the gray facade of the new building of the puppet theater. The idea was brought to life by the sculptors Dmitry Shakhovsky and Pavel Shimes, and the mechanism was invented by Veniamin Kalmanson. A lot of money was spent on making watches. The dimensions of the unusual watch are 3 meters wide and 4 meters high. The clock itself is made of copper, stainless steel, brass and textolite. The rays of the clock, patterns and the flagpole are covered with gold leaf. All fairy-tale characters are made of fiberglass. More than 50 people painstakingly worked on the production of puppet "walkers", among them locksmiths, mechanics, chasers and goldsmiths.
The clock is a round dial around which the houses of fairy-tale heroes are randomly scattered. There are twelve houses, and, accordingly, fictional residents. So, 30 seconds before the hour, a rooster crows, turning to the assembled spectators, it crows loudly and flaps its wings. At this moment, the clock hand points to the house, the doors of which open and the figure is shown. All these actions take place to the melody familiar to everyone since childhood, arranged by N. Bogoslavsky, “In the garden, in the city.” So, in turn, corresponding to each hour, all the characters are shown one after another. At noon and midnight, twice a day, all fairy-tale characters appear together, and the viewer can see the inhabitants of the entire village. Initially, the clock had an electromechanical device that occupied a specially designated room for it. The uninterrupted operation of the clocks was supervised by specially trained watchmakers. Their work included maintenance of the clock and the timely inclusion of a tape recording of voices corresponding to fairy-tale characters. The clock mechanism was so good that it was not inferior to the accuracy of the Kremlin chimes. At first, the rooster crowed every hour, including at night. But after numerous complaints from local residents who were disturbed by this, the clock was improved and they had a day and night (quiet) mode of operation. Another interesting fact is connected with this clock: in the Soviet pre-perestroika years, the sale of alcohol began at 11.00 in the morning. The men waiting for a hangover at the grocery store opposite, like children, rejoiced at the cry of a rooster at 11.00 and the appearance of a gray wolf with a knife from the house, as if cutting a snack. So the people called the cherished eleven hours "the hour of the wolf." You can see the famous clock and the theater itself at the address: Sadovaya-Samotechnaya st. 3, Moscow. Today, like 40 years ago, the clock of the Obraztsov Puppet Theater gathers around itself a large number of spectators, both adults and children, who are looking forward to 12 o'clock and the appearance of all fairy-tale characters. This miniature performance, performed by puppet clocks of the last century, delights and makes people come again and again.
A theater that does not start with a hanger, but with a puppet, a theater, one of the performances of which is listed in the Guinness Book of Records, a theater where even adults can feel like children. All this is the Sergei Obraztsov Puppet Theater in Moscow. Today he will tell about the history of one of the largest puppet theaters in the worldAmateur. media.
exemplary puppet theater
The Academic Central Puppet Theater (as the Obraztsov Theater was once called) was created back in 1931. The initiator of the opening was the House of Artistic Education of Children (there was one). It's hard to believe, but at first only 12 people worked in the theater! From the very first days, the outstanding theatrical figure Sergei Vladimirovich Obraztsov took over the leadership of the theater. By the beginning of the theater’s work, Obraztsov was already known as a stage artist who worked in the genre of “romances with puppets” and staged puppet shows - you will be surprised - in the genre of vaudeville! In addition, it was he who first showed on stage the interaction of the actor and the puppet. In one of the pop miniatures, Obraztsov played the father of the Tyapa doll, which was put on his hand. It was a real breakthrough in the field of puppet theatres.
Sergey Vladimirovich Obraztsov
Catch up and overtake
Of course, the theater, intended for children, was designed to educate them and teach them the mind. But at the same time, the puppet theater was supposed to become a laboratory theater, to go ahead of the rest in the field of the puppet genre. They were very fond of “catching up and overtaking” in the Soviet Union. True, they were in no hurry to provide the theater with material benefits - it is not worthwhile for celestial theatergoers to think about base things.
One of the main discoveries of the theater is the play “By the Pike’s Command”
Nevertheless, the troupe under the direction of Obraztsov got down to business, and every year they carefully delivered two or three new performances. The theater was constantly in search of its own style, interspersing propaganda performances and folk tales. One of the main discoveries of the theater is the play "By the Pike's Command", which was presented on stage in 1936. Its feature was a unique round-shaped screen that complemented the carnival atmosphere of the performance.
Performance "By the Pike" 2014
Puppet satire
Another breakthrough of the theater was the creation of the satirical performance genre. The first tests were carried out during the Great Patriotic War, when the theater was evacuated to Novosibirsk and traveled with performances to the location of the army.
The performance "Unusual Concert" is listed in the Guinness Book of Records
The soldiers were shown the "Front Program" - a sort of set of parody sketches on various political topics. But the peak of the satirical genre in the puppet theater was the play "Unusual Concert", which is even listed in the Guinness Book of Records!
Performance "Unusual concert"
Back to the roots
The theater differed from many others in that it tried to be accessible to the maximum number of spectators. Actors arm in arm with puppets traveled around the yards, schools, houses of culture and parks. It was then that an attempt was made to revive the fair booth as a traditional form of puppet theater. At that time, the famous parsley couple worked in the theater: Zaitsev and Triganova. In 1932, the first premiere of the Academic Central Theater took place - the play "Jim and the Dollar". The play was written especially for the Moscow theater by Andrey Globa. In 1940, the theater staged the first performance for adults - Aladdin's Magic Lamp.
The play "The Magic Lamp of Aladdin"
After 1956, the Moscow Puppet Theater became a frequent guest at festivals held on the initiative of the International Union of Puppet Theater Workers. Numerous tours of Obraztsov's students served as an impetus for the opening of puppet theaters in Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
puppet housewarming
In 1937 the theater became so popular that the government decided to give it a room in the very center of Moscow on Mayakovsky Square. But the theater moved to its modern famous building on the Garden Ring only in 1970. This is a special architectural complex, which is a model for many puppet theaters in the world. It's all about the complex sliding curtain and transforming walls that create the effect of "running sound".
fairy clock
Oddly enough, the original theater building was a dull gray block that did not look like a temple of art. It was then that Sergei Obraztsov came up with the idea to decorate the facade with a fabulous clock, which became a real symbol of the theater. Pavel Shimes and Dmitry Shakhovskoy worked on the creation of the concept of Obraztsov's favorite tower clock, and the clockwork itself was created by Veniamin Kalmanson.
The fabulous clock on the facade of the building has become a real symbol of the theater
This clock, measuring 4 meters long and 3 wide, is essentially a construction of 12 houses, each of which, you guessed it, corresponds to its hour. Figures of fairy-tale characters are hidden inside the houses. At noon and midnight, all the figures are shown at the same time, at the rest of the time you can see only one character, hear the crowing of a rooster and the favorite children's song "In the garden or in the garden." True, residents of nearby houses began to complain that the nightly crowing of the rooster prevented them from sleeping. So the rooster had to be switched to night quiet mode.
The famous clock on the facade of the Obraztsov Puppet Theater
Ekaterina Astafieva
