Even if your Russian isn’t terrific, here are three shows playing in Moscow that you ought
to see. Get out your translations of Alexander Pushkin’s fairy tales, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s
“The Idiot” and Viktor Pelevin’s “Chapayev and Void” and do your homework. You’ll be
able to follow the action on stage in these radical new productions.
“Pushkin’s Fairy Tales”
Not just for children
Renowned theater director and visual
artist Robert Wilson interprets Pushkin in
his first production in Russia. The performance
is based on five of the best-known
fairy tales by Alexander Pushkin, Russia’s
greatest poet: “The Tale of Tsar Saltan,”
“The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish,”
“The Tale of the Priest and of His Workman
Balda,” “The Tale of the Golden Cockerel,”
as well as his more obscure story, “The
She-Bear” and excerpts from “Ruslan and
Lyudmila.” CocoRosie, an American duo,
pioneers of “freak folk,” wrote the music
for “Pushkin’s Fairytales” and that’s half
of its success. The other half is the incredible
visual imagery Wilson created after extensive
research into Russian culture and
traditions. Yevgeny Mironov, the theater’s
artistic director, plays the storyteller, aka
Pushkin, in what is one of his most memorable
roles.
“The Idiot”
Dostoevskian circus
One of the last season’s hits, this brilliant
reimagining of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s
“Idiot” by Maxim Didenko has only a
couple of monologues throughout the
whole performance. Much of the performance
is nonverbal - more of a circus
clowns’ performance than traditional
theater. Be prepared: this is standard
theatrical practice for Didenko, whose
productions are never traditional.
Didenko usually mixes elements of all
the performing arts in his work, from
contemporary dance to musical numbers.
In this unorthodox version of one
of Russia’s most well-known classics,
Ingeborga Dapkunaite, famous for her
numerous TV and film roles, plays Prince
Myshkin, while the rest of the roles are
played by men. The vivid stage decorations
and video mapping by the designer
Pavel Semchenko from the ‘AXE’ theatre
are supplemented by Ivan Kushnir’s
fabulous music.
“Chapayev and Void”
Music and Zen
“Chapayev and Void,” also known as
“Buddha’s Little Finger” or “Clay Machine
Gun” in English translations, is
a novel by Viktor Pelevin that was first
published in 1996. It takes place in two
time periods, revolutionary and modern
Russia, with a poet who may not
be sane. But whether you’ve read this
modern Russian literature classic or
not, this production by Maxim Didenko
will keep you in your seat, completely
spellbound. “Chapayev” shows another
aspect of Didenko’s talent. In this
production he has turned the first and
longest act into a musical. There is a
whole live band on stage, including
guitar, drums, saxophone and lots of
singing. Ivan Kushnir, Didenko’s long
time collaborator, wrote the music.
The second act is devoted to one of the
scenes of the novel when several characters
get high on mushrooms. The
third is more of a contemporary dance
performance.
