Man with Malaya Bronnaya

Zhenovach Theater

Sergei Zhenovach is perhaps the youngest artistic director of the Moscow theater. On March 13, the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya will host the premiere of Sergei Zhenovach’s play “The Night Before Christmas.” Interview – Anna Shcherbina. Photo – Igor Mukhin.

You return to Gogol again. Is this a continuation of the same searches as in “Vladimir III Degree”, or an attempt at a new reading of it? Each director has a circle of authors, so to speak, “his own”. For me, Gogol is one of them. And when you come up with a new performance, you don’t think – this is new

will be read or old. My first performance was based on Nina Sadur’s play “Pannochka”. It was based on Gogol's Viy. Then – “Vladimir III degree”, now – the third attempt. The form, style, genre, and intonation of the future performance are dictated by the author. “Vladimir III degree” is an unfinished play. Gogol called it “Completed

scenes from an unfinished comedy." We did a student performance, and the objectives were educational. First of all, I then wanted the guys to be able to combine a psychological analysis of the motives of the characters’ behavior with a sharp, interesting form. If there is even the slightest mention of the characters in the text, we deduce

took them to the site. Some literary scholars who study Gogol's work have, in my opinion, the incorrect opinion that the legacy of this author can be divided into two periods. Early – “cheerful” and “healthy”, late – religious and spiritual tossing, illness, pitch darkness. For me this is division

very superficial and conditional, Gogol is indivisible, there can be no clear boundary. It is wrong to reduce any of his stories to an attempt to change and surprise for no reason; for some school essay. These are very deep, philosophical things, like everything in Gogol. In “The Night Before Christmas” the meaning is that the Nativity of Christ will come in the morning, and on the last night people are “corrupted”. All sorts of temptations arise, evil spirits rule the roost. But the courage of lust and doubts still pass, as soon as the first rooster crows. The play is about the fact that if you really want to achieve reciprocal love, if you believe in it, then you can achieve it, and sometimes a person colludes with the “evil one.” Morning comes and people go to church. Christ was born - a new stage of life begins.

Is the troupe you are currently working with self-sufficient, or is there still a need to invite outside actors?

Everything depends on the structure of the theater. An actor must rehearse every morning, then perform an evening performance. Theater is a way of life. If artists worked only on a contract basis, it would be

more possibilities. But nevertheless, I invited outside actors to the performances “King Lear”, “Illusion”, “The Deep”, “The Idiot”. But I am the type of person who works with an established team of artists. Consistency in relationships is important to me. And the artists themselves want the director not to guess

on the coffee grounds, and knew their strengths and weaknesses in advance. This requires many years of creative work. And the system of the Russian repertory theater allows us to work together for many years and not get tired of each other.

Won't the viewer get tired of this?

It’s hardly worth trying to please. This is not creativity, there will be no life in such a performance. Freedom is needed. For me, only the “theater of composition” is important, when you unexpectedly find something that cannot be thought up with your head. Only this type of creativity is the only possible and genuine for me. And among the spectators I look for people like me, those who sense falsehood and demand sincerity and dedication from art.

This approach excludes commercial success.

And betting on the cash excludes creativity. This is business. However, it is almost impossible to make money in the theater. I am not one of those directors. For me, theater is a form of dramatic art, not a show. For example, there are poems, poetry, and there is rhyming. The performance is not chewing gum: you bite it, spit it out and forget it. Another thing is that it is not always possible to achieve such an effect. For me, theater and commerce are incompatible things.

Nevertheless, most of your performances are quite spectacular.

I wouldn’t say that our performances were made “for five kopecks.” First of all, you start from the plan. Sometimes you feel guilty - you fantasize and begin to demand feedback and full understanding from those around you. For example, “King Lear” required twenty natural fur coats. Of course, this is a lot of money. If they were starting a production now, they would first calculate how much it costs. Of course, it’s nice when your imagination is not constrained by financial problems. I think that directors who rely on entertainment are not guided by only one desire - to “lure” the viewer. This means that they feel this play exactly like this, with such a set of auxiliary means. Of course, if we are talking about creativity. Very often, unfortunately, they invite “stars” and ruin the one-time event.

For me, only the “theater of composition” is important, when you unexpectedly find something that cannot be thought up with your head

But this, apparently, is normal for today's situation.

Perhaps, but when preparing a performance, I don’t set a goal: I’ll be here

amaze, surprise the viewer. But the audience will flock to this performance. When you come up with a performance and it begins to “breathe,” you literally get sick, you don’t find peace until the ideas are poured into a finished performance. In general, theater is a terrible force. Therefore, he must be ahead of the viewer’s desire, pull the viewer along with him, and not please him. And no lengthy and beautiful arguments about the fact that people need theater, that we entertain, amuse and relieve stress, do not justify hack work.

What element in the performance is most important to you?

First of all, the word and the subtext that stands behind it. No matter how trite it sounds, theater is a depth of thought and feeling. The ability to empathize, to live by one thought, one emotion. Everything else is the director’s inventions, the artist’s imagination, and acting expressions. This is a matter of talent, measure, and taste of those involved in the theater.■