ALEXANDER GRIGORIAN STAGES “THE BEAST ON THE MOON” PLAY DEDICATED TO ARMENIAN
GENOCIDE VICTIMS IN MOSCOW

YEREVAN, December 20 (Noyan Tapan). The premiere of the “The beast
on the Moon” play staged by RA People’s Artist Alexander Grigorian,
the Artistic Director of the Yerevan Russian Dramatic Theater after
K. Stanislavsky, was held at the Art Theater after A. Chekov in
Moscow on November 20. According to Alexander Grigorian, American
playwright Ruchard Kalinoskie’s play is dedicated to the memory of the
Armenian Genocide victims. It tells about the two Armenian young men,
who survived the 1915 terror.

According to the Artistic Director, “The beast on the Moon” brought
great recognition to the author: the play was staged in about 50
theaters of the US, it was translated into several languages and
was awarded with the Osborne prize of the American Drama Critics
Association.

The playwright was present at the Moscow premiere of the play, he said:
“This play is a real story of the parents of my first wife.” Russian
People’s Artist Oleg Tobakov, the Artistic Director of the Moscow
Art Theater, mentioned that the Armenian Genocide, which had 1.5 mln
victims, isn’t of less importance for him than Holocost.

According to art critic Margarita Yakhontova, the play is topical
not only for the Armenians. According to him, Russian artists Sergei
Ugryumov and Janina Kolesnichenko’s brilliant play delighted the
Russian spectators.