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- Female misfortune: a new reading of "Uncle Vanya" presented at the Mayakovsky Theater
Female misfortune: a new reading of "Uncle Vanya" presented at the Mayakovsky Theater
One of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov's main plays has been successfully performed on the stage of the Yevg Theater for more than 15 years. Vakhtangov, the same number in the Theater. The Moscow City Council. And it's being staged at the Mayakovsky Theater for the first time. The action takes place in a chamber space at arm's length from the audience. Director Yuri Ioffe rethought the playwright's work and looked at the relationship between Uncle Vanya and Professor Serebryakov from a different angle. Izvestia is about how the version of the Mayakovsky Theater turned out.
Let's go for a ride, pretty girl!
Uncle Vanya is Chekhov's most played play in the whole world. In the more than a century-long history of the Mayakovsky Theater, she was approached here for the first time. We decided to stage it on a small stage. The experience of staging on large venues suggested staging in breadth, and Yuri Ioffe decided to work in depth. The unrequited love of Sonya (Anastasia Dyachuk) for Dr. Astrov (Dmitry Garnov), the mental anguish about the failed life of Uncle Vanya (Alexey Dyakin), the worries about the unhappy family life of Elena Andreevna (Anastasia Mishina) unfold literally at arm's length from the auditorium. The actors in the chamber space speak in less loud voices, the mise-en-scene is arranged differently, the audience looks the characters straight in the eye. Being close to the artists makes it possible to better understand who these people are.
Anastasia Mishina (Elena Andreevna) and Anastasia Dyachuk (Sofia Alexandrovna) in a scene from the play "Uncle Vanya" during the pre-premiere screening at the Mayakovsky Theater
The subtitle of Anton Pavlovich's play is "Scenes from Village Life in Four Acts." For director Yuri Ioffe, Uncle Vanya is Chekhov's most tragic play and, oddly enough, it is also the funniest. Humor is in the desire to be happy. People are mortal, and next to death, everything else is frivolous, everyday— ridiculous. Chekhov himself mentions coffins several times in this play — at least lying in them, people begin to smile, looking back at previous misfortunes.
— "Uncle Vanya" is harsh material, sometimes even satirical. This kind of drama is a yardstick for a certain part of the actors who are able to take a step towards the genre complexity of the game. There is less dramatic strain here, but more Chekhov's laughter, the essence of which should be expressed not in the bright and wide mise—en-scenes of the big stage, but in the chamber space of the Small Hall, - says Yuri Ioffe.
Dmitry Garnov (Mikhail Lvovich Astrov) and Tatiana Rogozina (Marina) in a scene from the play "Uncle Vanya" during the pre-premiere screening at the Mayakovsky Theater
In support of creating a light storytelling atmosphere, the director also selected a musical score. Vladimir Spivakov and Denis Matsuev assisted the director. Their concert performance of Schnittke's famous "Polka" brings the performance together. Music plays a special role in the production. Even Dr. Astrov comes to Serebryakov's estate with a gramophone. This detail is not in Chekhov's work, but the director decided that it was the musical instrument that should attract Elena Andreevna's attention to the guest. Astrov has already given up treating patients and is going to take Serebryakov's young wife away, hinting by turning on the record "Let's go, pretty girl, for a ride, I've been waiting for you for a long time."
Stairway to the Stars
It is not so easy to stage Chekhov's play in a chamber space in such a way that the performance does not seem like a kitchen. Production designer Anastasia Glebova has made a spiral wooden staircase the center of the stage space. It leads to the second floor, where Alexander Vladimirovich Serebryakov lives. It's very allegorical — everything revolves around him in the manor. He is not only the host, but also a celebrity. Serebryakov, a professor at St. Petersburg University, a writer, and a creator, is married to the 27-year-old beautiful Elena Andreevna. They usually live in St. Petersburg. But sometimes they visit the estate, which is looked after by Serebryakov's daughter Sonya and his first wife's brother Ivan Voynitsky, aka Uncle Vanya. The rest of the family — Maria Vasilyevna's former mother—in-law (Nadezhda Butyrtseva), Marina's old nanny (Tatiana Rogozina), Ilya Ilyich Telegin (Dmitry Prokofiev) - are downstairs, working and creating the image of a "star" for Serebryakov. Therefore, a vertical scenery has been created for the Small Stage, along which the characters keep running and climbing, but they cannot reach the peaks of the professor.
Alexey Dyakin (Ivan Petrovich Voinitsky) and Anastasia Mishina (Elena Andreevna) in a scene from the play "Uncle Vanya" during the pre-premiere screening at the Mayakovsky Theater
— What is a person's happiness? — the director wonders. — It's about when you're good at something. Everyone has such a need. In this story, everyone worked to make Serebryakov happen. He has achieved this, and no one needs those around him. They lived in the name of this artist. Money was sent to him, the household was maintained.
The director believes that this is also the reason why Uncle Vanya was never staged at the Mayakovsky Theater — because there were artistic directors upstairs, wonderful directors who didn't care what was down there. Everyone was working on the realization of the great idea of the artist.
Kill the monster
The role of Professor Serebryakov is played by Evgeny Paramonov. In creating the image, the director suggested an unconventional way.
— We were going to acquit Serebryakov, — says Evgeny Paramonov. — His image in BDT, for example, where the professor is represented by a monster who strangles everyone around, has become generally accepted, and Uncle Vanya is increasingly trusted. And he, in turn, says that Serebryakov does not understand anything, does not understand, and in general is an empty place. Well, how can you trust a man who is just jealous? And the starting point in working on the role was that a professor at St. Petersburg University cannot be a dummy.
Evgeny Paramonov (Alexander Vladimirovich Serebryakov) in a scene from the play "Uncle Vanya" during the pre-premiere screening at the Mayakovsky Theater
The assistant director found historical information that there had been a purge after the assassination attempt on the tsar. Professors with liberal political views were removed from the university. So Serebryakov was fired here not for his professional incompetence, as is commonly believed, but for his point of view.
— No, he's not white or fluffy, but the talk that he's bullying his young wife is also not fully justified, — says Evgeny Paramonov. — What if it's just the fear of losing her, what if this is how the spouses build their relationship?
Anastasia Mishina (Elena Andreevna), Alexey Dyakin (Ivan Petrovich Voinitsky) and Evgeny Paramonov (Alexander Vladimirovich Serebryakov) in a scene from the play "Uncle Vanya" during the pre-premiere screening at the Mayakovsky Theater
Mayakovsky appreciated Chekhov very much and said that he could read a separate line like a whole story. Thanks to the poet's efforts, Anton Pavlovich's poems were found. It turns out that Chekhov was also fond of poetry. The director included them in the play. Serebryakov reads philosophical and funny lines at the same time. He does it with a smile and sarcasm.
Uncle Vanya, aka Ivan Voinitsky, played by Alexei Dyakin, is nervous, restless, offended. He does not understand why Elena Andreevna, whom he loves, chose Serebryakov, because this man, he believes, is nobody, but he is better, and sincerely loves the beauty. Voinitsky even shot at his opponent twice, but missed twice and finds no excuse for himself. Uncle Vanya has only unfulfilled dreams, books and Sonya, for whom he endures, stepping on the throat of his song.
Nadezhda Butyrtseva (Maria Vasilyevna Voynitskaya) and Alexey Dyakin (Ivan Petrovich Voynitsky) in a scene from the play "Uncle Vanya" during the pre-premiere screening at the Mayakovsky Theater
"This is my favorite play,— Dyakin admits. — I didn't even have a thought that I would ever play Uncle Vanya. The other productions I've seen also have their advantages. Undoubtedly, there are their idols. Outstanding performance by Innokenty Smoktunovsky, Anthony Hopkins as Astrov. But the production of the Vakhtangov Theater with Sergey Makovetsky is closer to me.
Alexey learned from his work with Yuri Ioffe that this play is imbued with humor. It is in Chekhov's dialogues, in situations, in their perceptions. You just have to want to see and hear them.
Women's Party
Meanwhile, Elena Andreevna pays her attention not to her husband, but to Astrov. Anastasia Mishina, who embodied her on stage, is sure that Chekhov did not paint her as a frivolous twirl who seduces men, charming them with her beauty and doing nothing else in life. There is a sense of desperation, emptiness, and hopelessness in it.
"For me, she is an alien who, despite her external well—being, cannot find a place for herself and be useful," says Anastasia Mishina. — Inner emptiness, unsettledness consumes her. She's asking herself questions about who I am and why I'm here. It torments her, and all the characters in the play. We have a little bit of Uncle Vanya in the play. There is such a property — everyone thinks that somewhere it could be better, that life could have turned out differently, more successfully. But that's not the point at all.
Anastasia Mishina (Elena Andreevna) in a scene from the play "Uncle Vanya" during the pre-premiere screening at the Mayakovsky Theater
But if you don't make an attempt to be happy, you will only regret the missed opportunity, so Sonya, in turn, is struggling for her future. Serebryakov's daughter is in love with Astrov. Unsure of herself, the ugly girl chose, as it seems to her, an unattainable peak. Out of desperation, she asks Elena Sergeevna to help her explain herself to the doctor.
Actress Anastasia Dyachuk says it was very difficult for her to accept that her character considers herself unattractive, so a separate drama played out outside the stage. While Anastasia Mishina was being dressed up, she went away crying so that her eyes would be wet from the injustice of the situation. Everything resisted. Nastya herself wanted her eyes to be tinted at least a little, so that her hairstyle would be different, but that's the role.
Anastasia Dyachuk (Sofya Alexandrovna) in a scene from the play "Uncle Vanya" during the pre-premiere screening at the Mayakovsky Theater
"Sonya is very young, inexperienced, she has problems with her sense of self, she is ready to give everything to him," says Anastasia Dyachuk. — She doesn't flirt, she doesn't send Astrov her vibes. Her love lies elsewhere — in ideas, in support of his worldview.
Elena Andreevna decides to help Sonya, but falls under the charm of the doctor. She herself is sensual, beautiful. For him, someone else's wife is a worthy trophy. As a result, Sonia, in love, is heartbroken. There is only the same unhappy Uncle Vanya next to him. The two of them continue to farm in Serebryakov's estate and dream of seeing the sky in diamonds one day. The performance is warm, intimate, understandable and very sensual. Being close to the actors immerses you in the world created by Chekhov, and it doesn't let you go for a long time.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
