Igor Evseev. Stuck in the seventies

Stuck in the seventies
Igor Evseev

Date of publication: September 5, 2000

-Where are you going, son?

- To Red Square.

- Make sure you don't mess her up!

Shock and quiet hysteria - this was not the case on the St. Petersburg stage.

In the sounds of the cold theme "Bolero" two patients came together, as if in a duel: "Achtung! La funf in der luft!"

For the first time in the history of Russian theater, Mother and Son addressed each other in a simple way - in a swearing way.

Existential drama in radical versions of Russian psychological theater became - this was clear after the first performance - the main feature of Alexander Galibin's directorial style. Over the course of seven years of work, he managed to create a “discrete author’s theatre,” the performances of which are scattered across the best St. Petersburg stages. After "La Funefa" the unusual "Three Sisters" appeared, then "City Romance" and "Carom". There was "The Tale of Tsar Peter" at the Alexandrinsky Theater and "The Queen of Spades" at the Mariinsky. At the end of December - if the scenery is ready - "Running" will appear at the Liteiny Theater. At the beginning of the year, if everything goes well, rehearsals for “Uncle Vanya” in Poland and “Boris Godunov” in England will begin.

Country of origin

Anatoly Vasiliev's sensational play "Serso", shown in the summer stage of the Izmailovsky kindergarten, turned more than one theatrical biography upside down. Vasiliev excluded all signs of “pure genres” from his own theatrical practice, returned the idea of ​​the ancient dimensions of existence to the viewer, tired of journalism, and reminded him of the sweet attraction of both Good and Evil. He proposed, as Galibin says, a new way of dialogue with the world - voluminous, multidimensional. In Vasiliev’s performances one could feel the completeness and thoughtfulness of the System. To master it, I had to leave my acting career, go to Moscow and return to study at the age of 33. Galibin came to GITIS, passed an interview, passed the exams and entered Vasiliev’s course on a general basis. Today he is proud that their choice turned out to be mutual. He still keeps “this lump of Teacher” within himself.

“I come from the seventies,” says Alexander Galibin , “everything that happened to me, to all of us in those years is dear to me.” I'm interested in going back there all the time. This is called a modern theme. “La Funfe” at Molodezhny, “Ragged Man” and “Carambol” at the Liteiny Theater is a kind of trilogy, a time-stretched reflection on what, what experience we are made of. I have no doubt that we are made up of the past, of what we have experienced. We develop, move, read, meet people, get divorced, but the experience of communist subbotniks, cheap port wine, forbidden books, late-night gatherings in the kitchen is in us. The road that remains behind us is easily recognizable. In "Carambola" - the history of a family from the end of the 19th century to the mid-seventies. This story is clear and dear to me, because I only do what I know. A modern hero - my age - is in conflict with the world at the subconscious level. He may say nothing and do nothing - he may just lie on the sofa like the Ragamuffin, but in his imaginary inaction there is a threat. In his strange peace there is anxiety, capable of turning into an explosion at any second.

The most erotic author

Are you asking why Russian directors are of interest to Western impresarios? Exactly this. The traditions of Russian psychological theater - unlike, say, ballet - have never been able to be rooted in the traditions of other cultures. Recently I was invited to stage "Uncle Vanya" in Poland. Polish comrades are interested in what his compatriot thinks about Chekhov, about the world he created, a hundred years after the play appeared.

I know that there was a wonderful performance by Tovstonogov in the Bolshoi Drama Theater and Nyakrosius in Vilnius - I saw them, but I want to stage it differently. It seems to me that Chekhov is one of the most erotic authors. And the most powerful expression of eroticism is manifested precisely in “Uncle Vanya”. He, Ivan Petrovich Voinitsky - although there is no exact indication of his age in the play - is something around fifty. At the end of the last century - extreme old age. At the end of this year, it’s almost like youth, a little delayed, but still. Imagine the situation. A dazzling woman comes to a remote province with some old man as her husband. In the full and complete radiance of mature beauty. And her name is Elena. Needless to say, what could happen because of such Helen the Beautiful in some miserable village, if a couple of centuries ago Troy burned down because of her?

At the same time, I assure you, all Chekhov’s motives - the motive of guilt of the intelligentsia, the motive of repentance or retribution - will certainly also be embodied. I have never corrupted an author for the sake of some “concept” or “self-expression”.

Russian phenomenon

With “Boris Godunov” nothing is clear at all yet. One of the foreigners saw the play “The Queen of Spades” at the Mariinsky Theater, and a conversation arose about staging the opera “Boris Godunov”. No papers have been signed yet, and in general it’s difficult to talk about future work. Any play that I am going to stage grows out of one or another experience of relating to the world in time. The play appears as an image that requires embodiment. As a requirement to take place. The selection occurs consciously and subconsciously. You begin to select sensations, classify and construct the future performance horizontally and vertically, looking for in each part its own measure of correlation with the whole. You have to carefully “knead” the plasticity and intonations of the characters in order to find the only suitable musical, lighting, and visual image for this performance. The result is unpredictable. It could be a stunning success, or it could be a failure. True, there have been no failures yet. I don’t know what will happen, but the theme of Boris, the theme of power and a person in power, has always fascinated me as a director. I did “The Tale of Tsar Peter and his murdered son Tsarevich Alexei” at the Alexandria Theater. I wanted to understand what the Sovereign is in the Russian consciousness.

Mark as a flash, as a source of internal conflict, the moment when some family matters begin to wedge themselves into government decisions. This is also a very Russian phenomenon. This is extremely significant in our history. Here is the Sovereign - God’s viceroy on earth, here are his loved ones - family, here are the people. I take a large circle - documents, legends, letters, and narrow it down to a small one - family life. I show how a small space - private, family - begins to influence - through the Sovereign - the fate of the people. The myth of Godunov, born of the crowd and presented to the crowd as a fair booth, should suddenly turn into a tragedy, because Godunov is alive. This is the point where myth turns into truth. It seems to me that Pushkin guessed it when he wrote his historical chronicle, “in the manner of Shakespeare.”

Drawings for the builder

I am glad that if he is destined to be, my Godunov will not appear in Russia. All these endless interpretations and attempts to actualize Boris and his family will begin. I don’t like all these vulgar parallels. I have never dealt with journalism, social issues or morality on stage. Mysticism - yes, but only to the extent that is necessary in each of the previous performances. In general, I work very simply. If I feel that I need to use some mystical motives, I open Kabbalah. If I need Old Testament motifs - the Bible. If you need a mythological series, I turn to Aeschylus or Euripides. For now, I don’t know what mythological code I will use to “open” Boris Godunov. Maybe Phaedra, or Medea, or Antigone. It doesn't matter, we'll see. It is correct when they say that everything is possible, because everything has already happened: there were wheelchairs, diagonal scenery was repeated, there were flying curtains, like in The Queen of Spades. It is important how you mastered it and why. A director is a very difficult profession; he is not a foreman who gathers coven workers to build a cowshed. Using the image of my favorite Theater on Liteiny, this is such a strange man, the builder Solnes, who, according to the drawings of the Builder of the Universe, is trying to create, if not small white churches, then houses for people. Allows what needs to happen to happen. Patiently doing the job, he waits. And everything works out.