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- Were you angry at night: theatergoers were enraged by Basta's tracks in the Ossetian Theater
Were you angry at night: theatergoers were enraged by Basta's tracks in the Ossetian Theater
The premiere of "Othello" at the Ossetian Theater named after Tkhapsaev turned into a scandal: some viewers were annoyed by the modern interpretation of Shakespeare with explicit scenes of actors in military uniforms to the tracks of rapper Basta. The outraged audience considered the production vulgar and unworthy of the classical stage and now demands to remove it from the repertoire. Before that, another theatrical experiment caused a resonance — in the Bashkir Opera Theater, the Barber of Seville's song "Yes for Money" was performed in Italian. Izvestia asked leading theatrical figures about what happened in Vladikavkaz and where the line of what is acceptable in rethinking the classics lies.
Grigory Zaslavsky, theater critic:
According to the rector of GITIS, not every director, even with a lot of experience, manages to unite the entire troupe.
— And those actors who find themselves deprived of work are sometimes ready to do anything to get rid of a leader they dislike. Apparently, that's exactly what's happening in this case," Zaslavsky said.
Rector of the Russian Institute of Theatrical Art GITIS Grigory Zaslavsky
Because, of course, this particular fragment was not accidentally torn out of the context of the play. As a result, the theater may lose its talented artistic director, whose play received the Golden Mask just a year ago, and, in my opinion, a very talented graduate of GITIS, a man who has repeatedly proved his professional and human worth.
Kirill Krok, director of the Theater named after Evgenia Vakhtangova:
— There is a very fine line in rethinking the classics. When, for example, Chekhov's play is taken and chopped, as they say, into a vinaigrette: it is complemented by anything — both in his own words and at the expense of other works. You always need to look at what happens at the exit. Some might say that the basics of modern classics are when actors play a famous text not in historical costumes. It will offend someone, too.
You see, you can't go on stage today the way Alla Tarasova played Anna Karenina at the Moscow Art Theater in 1937. Because anyone will tell you: it's boring, I don't believe her, she's some kind of bad actress. Today, the text requires a different approach. Otherwise, it will not sound to the viewer.
But if it is done with talent, then there will be no such disputes. But if it's far—fetched, that's another story. Someone is always outraged by something. After all, theater is the art of extremely personal perception. But, as it seems to me, there are objective indicators — for example, the number of tickets sold. And if it's really that bad, believe me, the public won't buy them, especially in regional theaters.
Leonid Roberman, theater producer:
— It all depends on the goal that the artist sets for himself. If the intervention is aimed at attracting attention for the sake of HYPE, I will be against this approach. However, if a director uses modern means to reveal a classic work and bring it to a viewer who is far from the original, I will support this, provided that the performance is talented, deep and professional. Otherwise, it won't lead to anything good.
From left to right: Anton Filipenko as Vronsky, Yaroslav Golovnev as his Son and Anastasia Ukolova as Karenina in a scene from the play "Karenina"
I am particularly concerned about people who consider themselves defenders of the classics. They resemble doormen, for whom it is important to "keep out", ignoring everything else. I am afraid of their opinions and aggression directed at everything that does not correspond to their ideas about art and classics. Most often, these are narrow-minded and fanatical individuals. If it were up to me, I would create a society that would protect theaters from their influence.
As for our play "Karenina" (the action of the novel has been transferred to the train, and modern music is playing. — Ed.), we wanted as many people as possible to know about it. However, today's youth and the middle generation live with a different mindset and perception of the world. Time has passed, and the same story can be told in modern language, while remaining tactful towards the author. Some viewers liked our performance, others didn't. It's not always related to how we told it, it's just that everyone has their own perception.
Alexander Tsypkin, writer, playwright:
— To be honest, you're starting to get a little tired of the outraged. The director has the absolute right to do whatever he wants in his performance, except for what is prohibited by the Criminal Code. It doesn't matter if it's Othello or any other classic work. It belongs to a world where the director has the right to offer his own interpretation. Whether Basta, Instasamka or Wagner will sound in the play is his own business and artistic choice.
The audience, of course, has the right to be outraged, even to advise others not to go to the performance. This is where his right ends. As soon as the viewer starts demanding cancellations or other restrictions, he gets on a very dangerous road, which has a well-known ending. The path from freedom of creativity to burning books is always much longer than the path from burning books to burning people.
Andrey Zhitinkin, People's Artist of the Russian Federation, director:
— Of course, there are many unexpected things in today's world — art is constantly expanding horizons. But if we talk about directing, then the internal censorship of the creator himself is extremely important here. Because the founder certainly has the right to demand compliance with the source if the project is funded by the state. If this is a private project, there are no questions.
Directed by Andrey Zhitinkin
It must be clear.: this is an original interpretation or an unexpected version. Then the viewer chooses for himself whether he goes to a play where the action is transferred from the historical past to the present day, or not. Is he ready for an avant-garde production with rap or not. That's the only question. Because, by and large, there is only one criterion: if it is talented, counterpoint is possible. But if it's not talented, vulgar, or just speculation, then the audience has the right to be outraged.
The director's advice: before spending money — and for a family budget, going to the theater with three people in the evening is a serious amount — you should definitely watch the promo video, read information on the Internet, and gather context. The theater, as a rule, shows and explains what kind of performance it is.
Ivan Agapov, People's Artist of the Russian Federation:
From left to right: Viktor Rakov as Maxim Gorky, Ivan Agapov as Korney Chukovsky in a scene from the play "Mayakovsky"
— I haven't seen these particular performances and I can't judge, but I can say that everything can be done with talent or mediocrity. It seems to me that a director who takes a non-standard approach to mastering classics should warn the viewer about this. For example, that his play is "based on" a particular work and contains the author's text. And the viewer, after carefully reading the poster, will decide whether to go to the performance in a modern interpretation or still watch the classic version. Of course, if it says on the poster that this is Shakespeare's Othello, and a new text written by the director is coming out of the actors' mouths, this is not very fair to the public.
A few years ago, the premiere of the Mayakovsky musical drama took place at Lenkom, where Vasily Vakulenko (Basta) was responsible for the music and lyrics. There, the hybrid conditions were set initially. And it wasn't a Mayakovsky play, like "The Bug" or "The Bathhouse." It was a work about him that was originally written by a modern author and it was originally said that there would be music by a modern artist, so there was no dissonance. That is, all the conditions were clear to both the actors and the audience. How it turned out is for the director and the audience to judge. And it was interesting for me to try myself in something new. The main thing, I repeat, is that it should be done with talent. If it's bad, the audience will vote with their feet, slam chairs and leave the hall.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
