Oleg Menshikov's chamber staging of "The Gamblers" gives rise to a rare occurrence in entreprise theatre: harmonious cast. And actor Menshikov as Uteshitelny keeps not leading, but partly unpretentious place there.

Looking at the decorations by Alexandr Popov, any connoisseur of theatre will say: it was the favorite way to decorate "Pannochka" by Nina Sadur (interpretation of "Viy"). Ten years later instead of Nina Sadur there's Maxim Kurochkin, Russian and Ukrainian playwright, who has written "Kitchen" for Menshikov and now translated Gogol into Ukrainian. Local official Zamukhryshkin (Viktor Sukhorukov) speaks to the touring gentlemen in the finest Ukrainian with intonations and appearance of cossak-Bashmachkin who has got noshed-up at the profitable service.
The performance will keep floating the well-known Gogol's motives. The playbill is a quotation from "The Government Inspector": the list of the performers is printed over a restaurant menu. The cards in the gamblers' hands are with mirror surface, and looking at it you may see your own reflection, but in the moments of excitement even the devil himself. The devilry, the absence of which deserved special thanks, still will appear in the very end. The cheated Glov, junior will as if by chance wag a string tail; wear a vulgar pince-nez with bloody ocular and a snout. The swindled demon makes us believe stronger that Uteshitelny's gang is capable of defaming anyone. Intellectual gambler, single Ikharev is opposed by their artistically organized crime. They beat his will of power and prestige through money with rough thirst for adventure, Ikharev's "story" is answered with the whole "tale" performed in front of the cheated cheat. Only so young, ambitious and pure Ikharev fails to notice how well coordinated are the swindlers' actions.
Gogol was often blamed with shallow writing: his literary substance was parted into fragments, details, words and ethnographical characteristics. Oleg Menshikov achieves the similar effect. May be this effect is to be explained by the drawbacks of actor directing: with all their might the actors try to develop characters and stuff the spectator with unlimited atmosphere of acting. The performance school crows over.