Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky — that name has been ringing, delighting, and warming children and adults for over a hundred years. His fairy tales outsell Pushkin’s editions. Generations change, fashion evolves, but his stories are still read and loved.
Everyone knows Chukovsky as a kind storyteller, a cheerful grandfather, a friend to all children. But do we truly know him as a person? A self-taught man, born during the reign of Alexander III, a friend of Mayakovsky, Blok, and Akhmatova; a researcher of Nekrasov and translator of the great American poet Whitman; a father of four children—three of whom he lost during his lifetime.
What was he really like? What did he hide from outsiders? Why did he renounce his own fairy tales?
“Chukovsky” is a journey into a paradoxical fairy tale that becomes reality. Here, translator Nikolay Korneichuk becomes the storyteller Korney Chukovsky; animals solve problems of the HOA "Limpopo," and in magical dreams, as in real life, love always triumphs.
The 1920s—when all of Chukovsky’s main fairy tales were written: "Barmaley," "Fedorino Gorye," "The Tatty Rat," "The Fly-Tie," "Moydodyr," "Doctor Aibolit," "The Telephone," "Stolen Sun." The play "Chukovsky" coincides with their centenary.
Savva Saveliev: “Who is the real Chukovsky? We seek the answer to this question in our play. Therefore, I want to warn the audience right away: this is not a children’s play. ‘Chukovsky’ is a fairy tale for adults. It’s about the dark side of fame and popular love.”