Chulpan Khamatova in the country of deaf -mute

The famous actress left Russia and after 25 years again played her legendary role - now in Latvian in Riga

Chulpan Khamatova is one of the most famous and successful modern Russian actresses. The theater public also knows it - those who visited the “Contemporary” and the theater of nations in Moscow, and those who just watched TV - about any set of Russian channels.

In March of 2022, Khamatova openly opposed the war, moved to Latvia and became part of the troupe of the new Riga Theater under the leadership of Alvis Hermanis, known for its tough position in relation to Russia. The first performance of Khamatova in Latvia was the Monestant Post Scriptum. In it, the actress played in Russian. The performance was dedicated to the history of the modern teacher of Russian and the literature of Nadia, who lost loved ones in a terrorist attack on Dubrovka, and at the same time - partially reproduced Dostoevsky’s “demons”. For this work, the National Theater Prize of Latvia “Lyudseev Night” called Chulpan Khamatov the best actress of the year. Getting a reward, Khamatova said the words of gratitude in Latyski. Then it became known that the actress will already play the next premiere in this language - such a premiere was the performance of Kurlomemo Zeme (in Russian - “the country of deaf -mute”). The director of the original film Valery Todorovsky supported the theater in the desire to work with this material, and Renata Litvinov, whose text to “possess and belong” was formed by the script, flew to the premiere in November 2023.

Alvis Hermanis - the artistic director of the new Riga Theater and the director, known to the Russian audience primarily for work in the theater of nations (“Shukshin’s stories”, “Gorbachev”), and acts as an artist in the performance. A literal and almost unconditional apartment is designed on the stage (with shabby wallpaper, an old disk telephone, piano), and above it, a screen above it, where shots from Todorovsky’s “Country” are projected, next to the titers in English. The viewer, who does not know Latvian, needs to decide: look at the video or at the credits. If you did not watch the film of Todorovsky and did not read the text of Litvinova, then distributing attention between artists, iconic scenes from the film and the credits will not be easy for you.

Before Khamatova transforms and becomes Rita from the film, she briefly tells the audience about a friend who is now in Russia and with whom they now cannot talk and hear each other at all.

We are talking about actress Dina Korzun, who played in the film Todorovsky a deaf eager heroine. Korzun in 2021, together with children and husband, Belgian composer and musician Louis Frank (who, by the way, shot in 2002 the clip “Friend” for the Ocean Elsa group) returned to Russia. And after that - she began to tell in an interview and in the production of the Practice Theater, how she “ became conscious” , and that in Russia “ more reasonable” than in Europe. It was together with Korzun Khamatova in 2005 that the charity concert “Give me life”, and in 2006, cofiled the fund of the same name.

The plot of the “Countries of the Deaf” is built around how Rita, who looks in the film by Todorovsky almost a saint, begins to work as a prostitute on the “tip” of a new acquaintance, deaf Yai, and “take money from men” to save his boyfriend Alyosha, who turned out to be the debtor of the mafia. The densely populated story in the New Riga is played by the quartet of the actors: the role of YAI is played by the actress and wife of Alvis Hermanis Christine Cruise, male roles are played by Gundar Abolins and Tom Kario (aka video artist of the play).

The whole performance Hermanis invites viewers to compare how Khamatova plays the same role with a difference of 25 years, and notice the differences. The soundtrack from the film (beyond the authorship of Alexei Aigi), who will try to play on the piano several times in the authorship of Alexei Aigi), which will be faced with a recorded track, will be dissonant several times, you will get a dissonance.

One of the central scenes of the performance: Rita first turns out to be a client, played on a couch, littered with dusty newspapers. Hermanis seems to demonstrate his attitude to media and propaganda: it will not pass for several years, he hints, and you will only fit into the litter in the brothel. For the viewer from Russia, alas, its context arises. I don’t know if Hermanis had it in mind, but in the “country of deaf -mute” I really want to look for messages to the “our” public. On the other hand, a friendly survey of acquaintances of Latvians, who does not apply for research, showed that the film “The Country of the Deaf” is not popular in Latvia - and few are familiar with his content. However, there is something unambiguous in this performance for both audiences.

The “country of deaf -mute” is a performance with acting work at the exemplary level of professionalism. When a red -haired wig pulls in the finale of Khamatova, as in the film, for a second it seems that we are really a version of the 1998 actress.

Hermanis used the reception of the “division” of the artist and character in the play “Gorbachev”, staged in 2020 in the Theater of Nations - there the duet Khamatova and Mironov played the Gorbachev couple in different years of their life (now the performance was removed from the repertoire). And the performance began with how Mironov and Khamatov began to rehearse Mikhail and Rais Gorbachev, trying to first feel the ways to speak and the motives of their characters, and then showing the maximum immersion in their images.

In the announcements of the “country of deaf -mute”, Hermanis reflected on the desire to return to the past and correct the mistakes: “But you won’t get away from fate, because the end of the film will be exactly the same.” In the final, the heroine Khamatova, indeed, with a blade in her hand, reflects on the possibility of drawing lines on his hands and so change fate. And in this finale there is a lot of hopelessness and despair.

But in the very fact of the game of Khamatova in Latvian there is hope for an alternative ending. Both Latvian spectators and journalists note that Chulpan plays in a new language with almost no accent. And if you reflect not about uncertain matters, but about an example of how a high -class professional demonstrates his level in a new language, then we can see the plot about respect for the country who has accepted you at a difficult moment of life, and about successful integration - entering this new environment.

Yes, Chulpan Khamatova has a lot of privileges that are not accessible to another fled from the country (or its "calmly left") after February 24 or September 21, 2022. But her very work in the “country of deaf -mute” can be inspiration and psychotherapy for these forced emigrants. In the end, everyone now needs stories about how to preserve themselves in the new world, a profession, and even a conscience. Khamatova succeeded. There is something to envy and what and by whom to be inspired.