Director, winner of the Russian National Theatre Award THE GOLDEN MASK . Winner of the Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation named after Fyodor Volkov (2003). He directs puppet productions in major drama companies.
Winner of the Russian National Theatre Award THE GOLDEN MASK (Jacob Jacobson, 2002; … I Am Writing to You for the First Time, 2006; When I Am Little Again, 2016), winner of the Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation named after Fyodor Volkov (2003). Evgeny led theatres in Abakan, Tallinn, the Czech Republic. He directs puppet productions in major drama companies. He is one of the creators of the International Ecological and Ethnic Festival of puppet theatres Chir Chayaan in Khakassia. Currently he lives in the Czech Republic.
An important subject of his creative work, starting with a notable debut (Judas Iscariot. Traitor), is the relationship between the creation and the Creator, when at the moment of the creation of the world – personal or cosmic – the seed of the final catastrophe is put into the ground: betrayal, death, apocalypse. In many situations the content has an impact on the form – Ibragimov often works in the black cabinet.
Most recent works are dedicated to immersive theatre, in which puppets participate on a par with objects, performers, shadows, and the audience moves in the dark space that causes confusion (Don Quixote. Aftertaste, The Snow Maiden).
“A rarity: there is nothing artificial in this production, it is somewhat anti-technological – everything is handmade. Puppets-figurines, props, live sound – all of those are playing and living. It is beyond my understanding how Zhenya Ibragimov has managed to breathe life into childhood, time, Warsaw: everything is visible, everything has volume and is incredibly gentle.”
Marina Raikina
"Moskovsky komsomolets"
“A Journey to a Different Reality — this phrase is written on the poster and should be understood literally. The Snow Maiden is a performance-promenade, or, what would better suit a pagan story, a performance-exploration game. Ibragimov’s imagination does not fit into the chamber space of Kostroma Puppet Theatre, where the audience can move only between the foyer and the auditorium, and therefore, closer to the ending, every participant occupies his or her usual place: the actors are on the stage, the audience – in the auditorium. However, the latter are standing and free to change their point of view.”
Alexei Goncharenko
"St. Petersburg Theatre Journal"
