Twenty-five performances from 13 different countries have been brought to the annual Chekhov festival this year, ranging from classical interpretations to very modern and creative ones.

A chorographer from Taiwan, for example, is staging “Whisper of Flowers,” a ballet based on Chekhov’s “Cherry Orchard,” while his Japanese colleague has brought to Moscow a ballet based on the “Black Monk,” one of Chekhov’s darkest short stories. The opening play of the festival is “To Moscow, To Moscow,” by German director Frank Castorf – a mix of Chekov’s “Three Sisters” and “Peasants.”

“Chekhov’s plays are open to interpretation because there is no black or white, right or wrong,” actor Adam Muskin told RT. “There are no heroes or villains. Every character leads a complete life, but there are no main characters. That’s why Chekhov has universal appeal. He is almost like Shakespeare.”

The festival has been going on for 20 years, usually every two years. However, as this year the world celebrates the 150th anniversary of Chekhov’s birth, all the plays presented at the event are either interpretations of Chekhov’s plays or plays devoted to Chekhov himself.

The event gathers theater professionals from all over the world who come to the festival not only to watch each other’s performances but also to take part in master classes and panel discussions – a rare treat for theater and Chekhov lovers.

“Chekhov is very understandable for everyone because he has a unique way of describing the human soul and the human mind,” Sigrid Reibo, a student at the Russian Academy of Theater Arts, told RT.

Chekhov Festival opens with German production

The main theatre event of the summer – the Chekhov Festival – opens Tuesday with the premiere of “To Moscow! To Moscow!” – a production by German director Frank Kastorf.

Based on Chekhov's work “Three Sisters” and the short story “Peasants”, “To Moscow! To Moscow!” will be played at Moscow's Mossovet Theatre from May 25 to May 27.

The director of “To Moscow! To Moscow!” told RIA Novosti that he has never before attempted to direct any of Chekhov’s plays as he considers him “perfect – there is nothing a director can do here.”

“Chekhov for me is like a film director – he always had that elegant, rapid technique that unites his plays with cinema,” Frank Kastorf says.

Kastorf, who is most interested in Chekhov as a comic writer, compares him to German playwright Georg Buchner, who, like Chekhov, was a trained doctor. “Only non-humanitarians can write like they did,” he declared.

The director together with the Berlin-based Volksbuhne Theatre has already participated in the Chekhov festival in 2003 with his production of Mikhail Bulgakov’s “The Master and Margarita”.

The Ninth Chekhov Festival will open on the stage of Moscow's Mossovet Theatre. According to the director of the festival Valery Shadrin, a total of 24 performances will make this year's program.