In the year of the 155th anniversary of the birth of Maxim Gorky, People's Artist of Russia Avangarde Leontyev presents a new version of his program based on the short novel “My Childhood”. This work takes a special place in the writer’s creative heritage. It is autobiographical and talks about the early years of a boy Alexei, who, after the death of his father and brother, travels with his mother to her hometown. This is where the main events of the story unfold.

«”The first version of the program “My Childhood” was prepared and directed by People’s Artist of the USSR, State Prize laureate Dmitry Zhuravlev,” says Avangarde Leontyev. — In the new version, the spectator will see photographs of the writer’s family and memorable places associated with his life. I consider “My Childhood” one of Gorky’s best books. Not only adults, but also children listen with great attention to Gorky’s rich, weighty text. With “Childhood” I performed both at philharmonic venues and in numerous schools in Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Yaroslavl, and many times at the “Orlyonok” youth summer camp.”

Few contemporary actors feel the literary word so subtly and know Russian literature so deeply as the People’s Artist of Russia Avantgarde Leontyev. He himself defines the genre of his theatrical literary programs as a “sounding word”. Evenings with Avantgarde Leontyev may be similar to the traditional “reading concert” in form, but in fact they are much more: it is also a conversation with an attentive and sensitive companion, offering an exciting journey into Russian literature, who knows better than others how to make the word voluminous, lively, strong and exciting, and how to discern unexpected meanings on familiar (and maybe unfamiliar - Leontyev chooses not the best known works) pages. How to make verbal literature an almost tangible reality, so fascinating that the viewer will forget about everything that was left behind the doors of the auditorium.