Before the performance begins, the artistic director of ROSTA, Nonna Grishaeva, promises that the little viewers will grow at least a few millimeters, or even centimeters, thanks to the magic of theater. On the other hand, the adult guests will feel a bit smaller as they return to their childhood.
In Sweden, Jan Ekholm is also known as a master of "adult" stories about investigations: in 1975, he was elected chairman of the Swedish Academy of Detectives, and two years later, he became one of the founders of the Stockholm Association of Detective Writers. The adventures of the former teacher Emma Stål first emerged in the late 1960s, but they have only recently reached Russian readers, now receiving a "theatrical" adaptation. Four stories about Fröken Stål have been translated into Russian, where she "re-educates" a gang of hapless criminals—her former students: Shef (Arthur Mkhitaryan or Ivan Kondrashin), Krendel (Ildus Khasanov or Sergey Druzyak), Molchun (Evgeny Chekin or Valery Krupenin), and Chikha (Pavel Stont or Semyon Gaziev).
In "Fröken Stål...", two literary genres under Ekholm's influence come together—detective and fairy tale. The performance is both a detective story and a children's show, as well as a musical. The director of the play, Valery Arkhipov, shares: "I would like to stage this performance so that children see the world through the eyes of adults, but perceive it with a child's heart."
The story that forms the basis of the performance is a detective tale. In the Swedish provincial town of Anywhere, several unprecedented events unfold: first, teacher Emma Stål (Elena Afanasyeva) is preparing to celebrate her name day, inviting all her grown-up "children"; second, a circus arrives for a tour; and third, someone steals the crown from the King. All these events are connected to the life of the "phenomenal fröken": the circus was founded by her former student Karl-Alfred (Victor Yesin), and the city police is led by another former student, Lars "Larsi" Princip (Dmitry Chukin). Even among the gang of hapless criminals, she has her connections—after all, some of her former students are even bandits.
The decorations of the town of Anywhere, created by Yanina Kushtievskaya, seem to spring from vibrant book illustrations, and have been brought to life through bright and original animation (video content by Anastasia Buzuneeva and Oleg Saifullin). The memorable and catchy songs are the work of composer Andrey Pronin and poetess Tatiana Malikova.
Virtually all the adult residents of the town of Anywhere—be it the bank director, the seller of delicious pastries, or the most honest journalist in town—once studied under fröken Stål. No matter how many years pass, they still remain little children in her eyes, and she remembers perfectly who loved chocolate toffees and who was fascinated by science fiction novels in their childhood.
Thus, Emma Stål is both a detective and a teacher, and who is the main character here is a question. She aims to reform all the villains and finds the right words for each adult. She knows exactly who among them did not learn their lessons well—and punishes them for their misdeeds just as children were punished in her time—limiting herself to notes in their diaries and educational sermons that the residents of the Swedish town heed. The heroine, Elena Afanasyeva, possesses a variety of nurturing tones that blend with playful glimmers in her eyes.
The "gang" of hapless robbers deserves special mention. They devise "villainous" plans for robbery, travel in a bright pink car, and dream of escaping to America. Like any proper children's "fairy-tale" villains, the robbers comically fumble, cannot agree among themselves, and have no idea what to do with the stolen crown—this is the focus of nearly all the dialogues among the ominous quartet and several humorous physical sketches in the performance.
The detective story of the robbery transforms into a kind-hearted moral tale, where all the wayward adults appear as merely "unreasonable," confused children in the eyes of their strict teacher. The phenomenal and fantastic fröken Stål turns out to be the best fighter against human shortcomings—her wise "harmful" advice helps to eradicate them.