Literary readings with Rappoport, Kozlovsky and Khamatova: how the Gift of Life charity event was held in London

According to a good tradition, for the twelfth time already, Gift of Life Foundation gathered the guests who cared for each other for the annual charity evening in London. This year the place of their meeting was the Marylebone Chamber Theater, where Ksenia Rappoport, Danila Kozlovsky and Chulpan Khamatova took the stage. The artists presented a literary and musical program created especially for this evening. It is based on the prose collection “Unserious Stories” by Sasha Cherny, one of the most brilliant poets of the Silver Age.

Sasha Cherniy spent many years in exile, traveling through Europe. At that time he also published Unserious Stories, his only prose collection. A hundred years ago, optimistic stories helped Black cope with bitterness and longing for his abandoned homeland and past life. Now they – all as relevant, kind and ironic – sounded from the stage, filled with new meaning and familiar experiences.

During the performance, the actors took turns trying on the parts of the main characters. For example, in the satirical story “Cozy Family” the role of Pronin, bored by the “simple Russian conversation”, went to Ksenia Rappoport. And in “Komariny relics” the main character of Danila Kozlovsky amusingly reflects on his understanding of female beauty.

Among the guests gathered in the cozy auditorium were musician Boris Grebenshchikov, businessmen Evgeny Chichvarkin and Tatiana Fokina, philanthropists Natasha and Igor Tsukanov, trustees of the fund Vadim Levin, Svetlana London, Elena Lileeva, journalist Alexei Zimin, and Gift of Life patron Lyuba Galkina.

After the performance, guests shared their impressions of the performance with each other and also took part in a charity auction – right on the stage of the theater. Featured lots included theater premieres, private dinners with artists and more. The combined effort raised over £350,000 over the course of the evening. These funds will be used to pay for anti-cancer drugs for Gift of Life wards.

To support the foundation and learn more about its work, visit www.giftoflife.eu.

The partner of the evening was Beleaev Caviar House brand .

Photo: Evgeniya Basyrova