WAITING FOR CHANGE?
Every person wants to be happy. Strives for something, bypassing obstacles, or loses his dream, crashing against them. The play "This is also me" by the Moscow Art Theater School (directors: Dmitry Brusnikin, Yuri Kvyatkovsky, etc.) reflects the ups and downs of Russian society.
Before us are real stories of people and images of famous musicians who are embodied by young actors in their play (“verbatim” technology). They speak to the viewer in simple language, as if referring to him as a friend. We immerse ourselves in real life when the boundaries between the stage and the hall are washed away, and the theater becomes closer to us.
We see young people, gay people who face misunderstandings and are forced to prove their worth, pensioners and war veterans who do not live, but exists.
What a strong influence is exerted on us by the image of a mother crying for her son who died in Chechnya, or of a burnt-out woman who has nothing left. The heroes are on the edge of the abyss, but some kind of strength helps them to hold on and not give up. They still keep the faith and can rejoice in every moment.
"I have my own video library, to which I go back and watch the recordings of my children starting to speak for the first time, starting to walk for the first time. But isn't this happiness? I am a happy person, although I am a single father." - says one of the heroes of the play.
The heroes are surprisingly close and understandable to us. By becoming participants in what is happening and empathizing with them, we live our little life in order to ultimately change our attitude to ourselves and to the world around us. It seems that the creators of the play are only opening up the abscesses of society and bare the harsh truth of life, but in fact they are simply trying to show a multifaceted soul a person who goes from tragedy to his own little happiness. Why is he will come in the end? Time will show.
Text: Natalia Pushchinskaya
Photo: Vasily Yaroshevich
FLAME OF LIFE
Power and love unite together in the play "The Last Cinderella of the Empire" (directed by M. Chumachenko) based on the play "The Fairy of the Deer Park", written by the duet of Julia Shiferstein and Edwardas Beinoras.
This is a vivid love story of the famous ballerina, the star of the Mariinsky Theater Matilda Kshesinskaya, and the three Grand Dukes of the Imperial House of Romanov: Nicholas II, Sergei Mikhailovich and Andrei Vladimirovich. The play is interestingly made in the form of M. Kshesinskaya's memories of her past. He smoothly takes us back to the days of her youth at the end of the 19th century. Together with the heroine, we go through a happy but difficult life, going deeper and deeper into the action. All shades of emotions and feelings are revealed before us. Passion and tenderness become one.
Two hours pass in one breath, throwing us into the abyss of mysterious and at the same time understandable feelings. We unravel the complex tangle of human relations with interest. Succumbing to the moods of the heroes, following their fates, we become participants in what is happening.
The performance is filled with love for life and freedom, which were inherent in M. Kshesinskaya herself. They are brilliantly reflected by the actress Y. Shiferstein ("Guten tag - I am your enemy"). In her acting, she embodied the prima's confidence and ambition. Her subtle transitions from innocence to decisiveness hold our attention to the end. It was also possible to reflect the different states of mind of the ballerina with the help of dresses (white - fragility, red - passion, black - pain, etc.). We have before us a versatile image of a woman who always gets what she wants. In her, talent is combined with the ability to charm. The image of M. Kshesinskaya, like the play of Y. Shifershtein, refers us to the story of Ivan Bunin "Light Breathing". They show refinement and acceptance of life as it is.
It is also worth noting the play of actors: I. Levin (Tsarevich Nikolai Romanov, Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich), A. Serov (Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich), M. Fomenko, E. Beinoras. Each of them brings its own special touch to the performance.
I. Levin combines two roles well at once. It reflects the fervent passion of Nicholas II and the serious feeling of Prince Andrei Vladimirovich. All the actors together build a beautiful story about the ups and downs of M. Kshesinskaya, in which she always stood with dignity.
The play "The Last Cinderella of the Empire" distinguished by sincerity and energy. There is a spring mood in it, despite the tragic moments. Everything is perceived easily, although we are faced with a tangled relationship. This is not only a true tale of an influential ballerina. It reflects the power of life, when you are able to smile through tears and go forward, which Kshesinskaya has always done. Its resilience is passed on to us so that we remain ourselves and do not deviate from the given path.
"The last cinderella of the empire" - a worthy performance worth seeing.
Text and photo: Natalia Pushchinskaya
THEATER FOR EVERYONE
Theater as a call to life. This is the main idea of the round table "Social Project and Theater", which took place on September 8, 2012 at the Theater. Doс in the framework of the festival of young drama "Lyubimovka - 2012". Playwrights from different cities of Russia, as well as the United States, came together to solve the important task of helping cultural, social development of children with disabilities, prisoners, cancer patients, alcoholics, drug addicts.
The purpose of this mission is not only the creative disclosure of children, but also the creation of a favorable soil for spiritual, personal growth and adaptation to future life. This is very important in the context of cruel treatment of the unprotected layers of the population, prisoners, the stereotype of "normality" in society.
Various projects of the Theater were presented at the round table. doc, focused on disclosing talent in children, striving for future self-realization: M. Popova "Class of the World", M. Krupnik "Class Drama" and work in the Mozhaisk colony, E. Kazachkov "Perspective" (regional public organization of disabled people), N. Zykova "Hospital clowning" (work with cancer patients), "Theater of Deaf Actors", "Masterpieces of Literature for Schoolchildren on Stage".
“The theater has a big mission - the humanization of a society in which people with disabilities experience great difficulties with movement. Theater is an ancient and powerful art of communication that can now come to the most distant places and help socially vulnerable segments of the population. The project is aimed at immersing children (in ordinary, correctional schools, etc.) in the classics, in the language, the characters of the heroes of literature. So the development of the child and his reflexive abilities occurs " - said the ideologist, the creator of the Theater. doc festival E. Gremin.
Project "Theater + Society" with the support of the Ministry culture is based on cooperation between the state and independent theaters. Within the framework of this project, work is being successfully carried out with juvenile prisoners from the Mozhaisk educational colony. Its task is to collect success stories of people who have already left the colony and were able to start a new life. This is a support for adolescents, which allows them to change their attitude towards themselves.
Maria Krupnik: "This work is very important, because it gives a small glimpse into the future. Every child becomes understandable."
Within the framework of the project of O. Kalashnikova "Art-Amnesty" (Theater of prisoners, Rostov-on-Don) plays are successfully staged, most of which are related to the question of the future life of prisoners in society. The method of immersion in various life situations on stage has a beneficial effect on children. A small, insipid, prison world with a lack of freedom turns into a big one thanks to the theater. Each person feels fulfilled and needed. According to one of the playwrights, they tried to awaken the public to understanding the people in prison.
The great work that Teatr.doc does, very important for people called outcasts in society. Unfortunately, insufficient funding for projects, which is often enough only for theatrical props, does not allow to fully implement all the tasks set for the playwrights. Actors often work on a volunteer basis. Beating down the threshold in fundraising slows things down. For this reason, some performances (for example, "Adventure in Pajamas" in a neuropsychiatric hospital), joyfully received by the children, were played only once.
With moral support and communication with talented children and those who simply need help, the issue of their further integration with the society into which they will enter is still acute. There can be no guarantee of further support for such children, which is now only in its infancy.
Only active and mutually beneficial cooperation between the theater, society and the state can provide children with a valuable right to maximum self-realization. By showing kindness, we are able to give them confidence in themselves and in the future, to teach them to enjoy every moment. With a steadfast helping hand, we can instill hope in those who are desperate to believe in the best. And this is a sure step towards creating harmony in relations in a society where people respect each other's individuality, walking along the road of life with a smile.
Text: Natalia Pushchinskaya