Not a dog's body: Bulgakov's hit was staged at the Nikita Mikhalkov Theater

""Workshop "12" Nikita Mikhalkov" opens the season with the premiere of Sergei Gazarov's play "The Heart of a Dog". The director openly stated his attempt to get away from textbook cliches and rethink Mikhail Bulgakov's story through the prism of modern ethical issues. The bold concept turned a subtle social satire into a psychological thriller, but retained the author's intonation. The main roles were played by Sergey Gazarov, Danila Dzigar, Nadezhda Filippova, Sergey Stepanchenko, Fedor Lavrov, Sergey Batalov. "Izvestia" visited the pre-premiere screening.

Luxury of the bourgeoisie and Shvonder in a red kosovorotka

The fact that the reading of the classics will be non-standard is immediately noticed by the audience. Half of the stage is covered by a black curtain, half by a screen. The cinematic solution in the Mikhalkov Theater looks organic. A thin stray dog appears on the screen to the sounds of a howling snowstorm, complaining about his share. The design is arranged in such a way that a very real Professor Preobrazhensky fits into the frame, who is on stage on the other side of the screen. He takes the unfortunate dog to his luxurious apartment on Prechistenka Street.

The role of Preobrazhensky is directed by Sergey Gazarov. Together with the set designer Alexander Borovsky, he proposed an interesting solution: the new furry inhabitant of the apartment is given out by shadows behind huge white glass partition doors. He manages to smash dishes, devour a stuffed owl and smash the portrait of the outstanding scientist Mechnikov.

The decoration itself literally screams about the luxury of the professorial choir: a huge crystal chandelier, dozens of meters of red velvet in Art Deco style and a sparkling medical instrument. This is not just a beautiful background, but the main irritant for the representative of the house committee Shvonder and his team. Revolutionaries do not seek to destroy other people's way of life, but to take this beautiful world for themselves. The role of Shvonder is convincingly played by People's Artist Sergei Stepanchenko — in a leather jacket, cap and red kosovorotka, he looks like a real head of a management company who came to take away the professor's real estate.

Watch the talking dog

Sharikov himself appears in person only at the end of the first act — helpless, under anesthesia on the operating table, over which the young doctor Bormental (Danila Dzigar) and Preobrazhensky bent. But in all its glory, the hero of Fyodor Lavrov appears in the second act. With a scar on his head, constantly scratching and rushing at the maid Zina (Nadezhda Filipova), he vividly experiences his rapid transformation from a dog to a human. The viewer looks at this frightening metamorphosis with fascination, like the same Bulgakov old woman who babbled ingratiatingly.: "A talking dog is interesting to see."

Movie stars appear in the eccentric images of Preobrazhensky's patients, whom the director generously endowed with names. Honored Artist of Russia Sergey Batalov played Valdemar Karlovich, who was surprised by the powerful surge of male strength after surgery. Another highlight was the return to the stage of Honored Artist of Russia Tatiana Tashkova in the role of a lady preparing for a monkey ovary transplant.

The audience greeted Alexey Nikulnikov with a flurry of applause. After the All-Union triumph in the film "Gypsy", where he played Budulai's son, the actor was long associated only with this role. His path to new major works turned out to be difficult, and now you can see the famous artist in a new production of the Nikita Mikhalkov theater.

Preobrazhensky without a halo

Sergei Gazarov's main semantic revolution is the reinterpretation of the image of Professor Preobrazhensky. What appears before the viewer is not a noble luminary of science, but a cold, calculating egoist driven by pride and a thirst for profit. In this version, the scientist himself looks like a monster spawning another monster.

Shvonder and the members of the house committee suddenly seem to be honest reformers with their truth. But if absolutely everyone is right, then Bulgakov's deep social tragedy is imperceptibly turning into a domestic farce.

Sharikov, played by Fyodor Lavrov, is not an unhappy being at all. He seems to be taking revenge on the professor for his transformation, so he easily obtains documents, calling himself a Polygraph Polygraphovich, gets a job catching cats, and even brings his bride into the house, lying to her that his scars are from the Kolchak fronts. The rapid transformation into a boor deprives the hero of the audience's sympathy. In the director's interpretation, this rebellion does not look like a consequence of a transplanted pituitary gland, but as a natural protest against the domestic tyrant professor.

The Egyptian Gods

The musical leitmotif of the performance was Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Aida". Professor Preobrazhensky constantly sang the melody of the Egyptian choir "To the shores of the sacred Nile" ("Su! del Nilo al sacro lido..."). In the production, this formidable music is powerfully performed by an invisible choir, which is enthusiastically conducted by Philip Philipovich Preobrazhensky himself.

In an atmosphere of mysticism, figures of ancient Egyptian gods with dog heads appear in the professor's apartment. These servants of Anubis, the guide of souls to the afterlife, appear at the most tragic moments for Sharikov. They come as messengers of an inescapable reckoning for the pride of a scientist who fancies himself a Creator.

In confirmation of his failure, Preobrazhensky admits that walking on two legs and talking does not mean being human.

"The Heart of a Dog" turns out to be a masterfully assembled spectacle that makes you seriously think about human responsibility to nature.