Proud cry of the Slavs

Oleg Tabakov spoke about the plans of the Art Theater

The gathering of the troupe began with an ovation: the acting people greeted Oleg Pavlovich Tabakov entering the hall. The same portion of applause (if not more) went to two employees of the Moscow Art Theater, who were arrested at the beginning of the summer while investigating the so-called financial scandal in the theater. Their preventive measure was changed (people, according to Oleg Tabakov, who did not cause any damage to the state, spent two months behind bars), and the troupe greeted them as heroes. Even the announcement of plans for the next season faded before this friendly greeting and before the small speech of Oleg Tabakov, who recalled the legal traditions of the thirties in connection with this story.

However, they also welcomed two new theater actors: former students of Konstantin Raikin - Artem Bystrov and Alexey Varushchenko - were accepted into the troupe. But still, the main topic of conversation at the troupe’s gathering was future premieres.

The theater begins the season with the premiere - although “The Threepenny Opera” staged by Kirill Serebrennikov was already performed in June, the official “first evening” was postponed until the fall. (You can read about this performance, in which Konstantin Khabensky plays the role of Mackie Knife, in tomorrow’s issue.) On November 7, on the Small Stage, Marina Brusnikina releases “The Noble Nest” (giving Dmitry Dyuzhev a chance to rehabilitate himself in the eyes of the public after the stunning film premiere of “Strict Vacation mode"). In a week, Yuri Butusov will stage “Ivanov” on the Main Stage (Andrei Smolyakov has been chosen for the main role - one can hope that the role will fit like a glove). In January, the theater will continue to work with Russian classics - Adolf Shapiro will show Goncharov's "The Precipice" with Olga Yakovleva and Anatoly Bely, and in February the time will come for Soviet classics - the second (1935) edition of Gorky's play "Vassa Zheleznova" will be staged by someone who has not previously worked at the Moscow Art Theater, the head of the St. Petersburg Small Drama Theater Lev Erenburg (the title role is intended for Evgenia Dobrovolskaya).

Until the end of the season, the Art Theater will also show a dramatization of Chekhov’s story “Duel” (directed by Andrei Yakovlev), and Igor Zolotovitsky, acting as a director for the first time, will stage Gogol’s “Marriage.” And only for the artistic director of the theater will an exception be made - Oleg Tabakov is destined for a role not in a Russian classical play, but in Harold Pinter’s work “The Greenhouse,” which has never been staged in Russia before. (“Since the directors raised here don’t think about my acting destiny,” the artistic director said, smiling, “I decided to take care of myself and invited a director with the metaphorical surname Andrei Moguchiy.”)

Oleg Tabakov said that “you won’t get any complaints about the reduction of money in culture.” In his opinion, when the theater is sold out, a general reduction in subsidies is not fundamental. (“The last time I played to an incomplete auditorium was in Kazakhstan during the development of the virgin lands - there the performance began before the evening milking ended.”) Nevertheless, the artistic director casually hoped that his fans had stopped appearing in the theater (obviously meaning not librarians or even office workers) will return to the Moscow Art Theater, and then the theater will be able to invite a certain Frenchman for the production of “The Straw Hat”, and for another project - a “young Englishman”.

Kirill Serebrennikov, Evgeny Pisarev and Viktor Ryzhakov will take on plays that have not yet been named in the beginning season. For three years now, the artistic director has been hoping that Dmitry Chernyakov, with whom there was once an agreement to stage “The Blue Bird,” will appear again at the Moscow Art Theater. Quoting Mikhail Roshchin (“War be damned, our finest hour”), Tabakov promised a special theater evening dedicated to the next anniversary of the Victory. This will not be a repertoire performance. “We will make the proud cry of the Slavs,” said the artistic director. “One day we’ll play and cry together.” Well, maybe we’ll do it again someday.” And of course, the Moscow Art Theater will not forget about the 80th anniversary of the birth of Oleg Borisov and the 150th anniversary of the birth of Fyodor Shekhtel - both the great actor and the architect who built the Art Theater will be remembered on separate evenings.

Anna GORDEEVA