The Moscow Provincial Theater presents a performance without words “Caligula. Theater poster - reviews of the play Caligula performance actors and roles
Text: Natalya Guseva
Photo:
On December 23 and 24, the premiere of the play “Caligula” based on the play by Albert Camus, directed by choreographer Sergei Zemlyansky, will take place on the stage of the Moscow Provincial Theater. The remark in the poster is “version without words.” The authors of the play abandoned the text as the basis of dramatic theater and tried to find other artistic media expressing your thoughts, feelings and emotions.
“Perhaps the choice of this material for production in our time will cause surprise. It would seem that what do we need in the history of the Roman emperor Gaius Julius Caesar, nicknamed Caligula? The classic question is: what do we need Hecuba? But there is nothing more important and interesting than exploring human nature, his passions, ups, downs - “life human spirit", which Stanislavsky spoke about. How does a vulnerable youth grow into a tyrant, whose cruelty was legendary, what happens to him? Sergei Zemlyansky is a talented director with his own unusual theatrical language, and I think for our actors to work with him, to try themselves in a new genre, is a very useful experience,” says Sergei Bezrukov, artistic director of the Moscow Provincial Theater.
This is the second collaboration between the director and choreographer and the troupe: most recently, the premiere of Anna Gorushkina’s play based on Arthur Miller’s play “A View from the Bridge” took place, where Sergei Zemlyansky acted as a plastic director. Now, for his production, Sergei has chosen no less complex material - the tragedy of Albert Camus “Caligula”, because “Caligula” is a timeless story. This one is extraordinary historical image It has been worrying theater workers, both directors and actors, for decades now.
— The idea to stage “Caligula” arose a long time ago. We will work in our traditional non-verbal manner, depriving the characters of “words.” Hearing-impaired actors will take part in the performance. We find it interesting to use the sign language that is familiar to them, to which they will be devoted art form.This joint philosophy will make the work even more multifaceted! The production is based not only on the plot of the play of the same name by Albert Camus, but also on historical materials and plots works of art other authors. We don't want to limit ourselves to one story. We are interested in fantasizing, composing a play together with the actors, creating the world of the hero, the reasons for his actions and desires. We are not interested in who is good and who is bad. We explore the reasons for what exactly makes a person cruel and why people still crave such rulers. What creates fear and the desire to obey? Is it a curse or the only form existence? - admitted Sergei Zemlyansky.
The performance “Caligula” is at the intersection of three theatrical genres: dramatic performance, dance theater and the expressive emotions of pantomime. The authors of the play abandoned text as the basis of dramatic theater and tried to find other artistic means of expressing their thoughts, feelings and emotions. At the same time, the creation artistic image occurs not only with the help of body plasticity and bright musical accents, but also with the use of characteristic dance elements.
The language “Without Words” is understandable and close to everyone, regardless of gender, age and nationality. It is a body language that has absolute sincerity and freedom to penetrate every heart. The libretto by Vladimir Motashnev, written specifically for the play “Caligula,” contributes to a deeper understanding of the dramatic material. Beautiful historical costumes of the actors and stage design, which were created by Maxim Obrezkov, allowed the viewer to be transported to the bygone era of the Romans and the cruel emperor.
The play involves both dramatic actors and the hearing impaired. Professional dancers participate. All artists of different genres, levels and ages gathered in one big performance.
What is the main value of “plastic drama” was told by director Sergei Zemlyansky.
- I don’t know how valuable this is for wide range spectators - some are afraid of it, some think it’s a ballet or some other strange dances. In fact, it is very interesting for me to work with dramatic artists - it is not always important to me how the leg is raised, how the knee is extended, the essence is important - especially if you work with drama, the essence of the experiences of a particular character is important. And here the dramatic artist’s ability to acquire such a physical form is needed so that it is expressive, speaking and concrete, so that the scene does not sag, so that he can convey to the viewer this or that emotion, the state of the hero. Dramatic artists, understanding what they are doing, and being able to do it from the point of view of conveying drama, endless boundless love or hatred, varying one or another emotional states, using bodily expressiveness, which I help them with, achieve in a global sense infinite value from the point of view of the artist.
A tough, clear rhythm, sincere and bright acting, spring-like elasticity of the production - all this determined the face of the performance.
Albert Camus described the essence of acting this way: “The actor invades the soul, removes the spell from it, and uninhibited feelings flood the stage. Passions speak in every gesture, but what do they say - they shout. To present them on stage, the actor seems to re-invent his characters. He depicts them, sculpts them, he flows into the forms created by his imagination and gives his living blood to the ghosts.”
Home male role V different compositions played by young artists Ilya Malakov and Stanislav Bondarenko.
Their Caligula is a character obsessed with manic-depressive ideas. He believes he is capable of going beyond human capabilities. Like a chameleon, he changes one mask to another, but is defeated. Caligula pays for him both as a stranger and with his own death.
A journalist from our portal asked the actors how they managed to get used to the role of such a strong and bright historical figure.
“Caligula is an unusual character,” confirmed Stanislav Bondarenko. – And, of course, I do not support his methods. Most of them are not acceptable to me. Therefore, I tried to understand the essence of Caligula.
“Yes, our goal was to understand and justify Caligula,” Ilya Malakov picks up the conversation, “to understand the tragedy and his inner world. Why did he behave this way? After all, the actor’s profession is to understand and justify his character. This is a role that can be studied endlessly.
How hard is it to play “without words”?
— Sergei immediately advised us, look for what helps you get used to the role. In general, it’s difficult, and at first we said a phrase about what we wanted to do, and only then it was removed and replaced with gestures. And only then Seryozha hones it so that it looks more expressive, says Ilya.
“And these are gestures that are more interesting, more understandable to the audience who will come to watch the performance,” Stanislav agreed with his colleague. “They will understand the plot without words.”
The role of Cesonia was given to Ravshana Kurkova and prima Bolshoi Theater Maria Alexandrova, and Drusillas - Katerina Shpitsa and Maria Bogdanovich (ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater).
“I haven’t had a theater like this in my life for a long time,” said Katerina Shpitsa, “I, of course, go on stage, but this is my first time in such a performance.” I saw Sergei’s work, or more precisely, his play “Demon,” so I gladly agreed to participate. I have an excellent relationship with the team.
Our journalist also asked the actress about her attitude towards the historical character Caligula.
- How can you treat him? Ambiguous, of course. Any outstanding historical figure overgrown with legends, fictions, myths. Everyone is trying to analyze this personality, it passes new era, new people who are trying to rethink history, and contribute their thoughts. I think that Caligula, as a historical character, apart from politics, of course, is very shining example, how the dark side of the personality finds its way out, while the people around him suffer. But we don’t know how much of the documentary truth there is in this. I play Drusilla, Caligula's sister, with whom he was in love. According to our version, her death led to his insanity and served as an impetus for everything dark inside him to break free. The image, of course, is very symbolic and allegorical, because inside every man there is a female part of the soul, which is responsible for feelings and emotions and spirituality, just like a woman, there is a male part that quickly makes certain decisions. This is the voice of reason. It is in Caligula that we see how the male part mixes with the female. And that’s why he begins to lose the boundaries of reason,” Katerina answered.
The performance turned out to be monumental, expressive and spectacular, and at the same time deep and dramatic. Words are really not needed here, you just need to see and feel the acting itself. Starting from December 23, the performance will be performed on the stage of the Moscow Provincial Theater.
Categories: We watched the premiere of this performance on December 23, 2016, which produced the strongest impression. The odious Roman emperor, whose reign remained in memory as a bloody tyranny with acts of horrific inhumanity and cruelty, appeared in the play as a tragic and even, to some extent, sacrificial figure. At the same time, “Caligula” by no means became a performance justifying the crimes of this monster and murderer, who says in Camus: “Most of all I admire my own insensibility,” but became a highly artistic attempt to understand the nature of human cruelty, even more terrible because of what accompanies it unlimited power over other people and it is accompanied by a conscious violation of moral norms and sacralization of one’s atrocities. Subjected to psychological and, one might say, physical violence in his youth, the future emperor did not turn into a broken and downtrodden creature, not thinking about revenge in life, but he himself became the ruler of the great Roman Empire and a tyrant. The play shows how a love tragedy that has happened breaks the fragile balance between light and dark side his personality, after which his irreversible path into the abyss begins. What fueled Caligula in his gradual personal degradation and dehumanization? What made it possible to commit their blatant atrocities with impunity? The answer to this question is also heard in the play: hypnotizing demonic charisma strong personality and fear. Fear of the people around him - noble patricians, high military leaders for own life and the desire to preserve her and his position in society at any cost, even paying for it with the lives of his loved ones. How can one not recall Bulgakov’s words: “cowardice is undoubtedly one of the most terrible vices”...And all this was told in the play, which is a plastic drama in genre, without a single word. All storylines, a chronicle of ongoing events, characters - all without words. Feelings, mental states, desires and thoughts were conveyed by the actors plastically, with gestures (even sign language is used in the performance, phrases from Camus’ play are spoken in it), eye expressions and facial expressions, and all this was perceived and “heard” both visually and emotional level. Fantastic control of the body - the main instrument in this performance, magnificent physical fitness and the deep psychologism of the image was shown to us by the young, talented and handsome actor Provincial Theater Ilya Malakov. Knowing Ilya from various performances, I really wanted to see him in the role of Caligula. And Caligula delighted and amazed him, like a chameleon, each time he appears frighteningly different depending on the situations and people next to him - be it his sister and beloved Drusilla (actress Katerina Spitz), the wife of Caesonia, the power of whose love is such that it justifies and supports Caligula in everything (prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater Maria Alexandrova), a friend of his youth, the poet Scipio, who unsuccessfully tries to reach the voice of reason and soul of Caligula (Anton Sokolov), a faithful ally of the emperor Helikon (Dmitry Kartashov), who dared to confront and led the conspiracy of Chaerea Cassius (Sergei Safronov).
"Caligula" is an incredibly beautiful performance. This is the beauty and refinement of phrases, and this is how the plastic monologues and dialogues of the characters are perceived. This is physical beauty - the performance fully reflects the ancient cult of the beauty of the strong and healthy body. This is the beauty of the set design - the original and strict decorations are set off by the luxury of the characters’ costumes and hats. The performance features amazing music that reveals the meaning of what is seen and “heard,” enhancing the intensity of the plastic-dramatic scenes and setting the rhythm of what is happening.
Of the most highlights I would like to highlight the scene with black ribbons - the tongues of his subjects torn out by Caligula; huge moons- white balloons with mournful human faces as symbols of possession of the impossible; the scene of a barbaric feast with the abuse of Mucius’s wife (played by Zoya Berber); the entrance of Caesonia and Caligula in a staged performance; Caligula's murder of his predecessor Emperor Tiberius (Grigory Firsov). Even the most horrific of these scenes are impossibly beautiful in their choreographic execution.
A little unexpected, different from what is in the play, the ending of the play took us by surprise. The scene of the death of Caligula, who had finally lost his human appearance and turned into the likeness of some kind of writhing reptile, appeared laconic, effective and creepy, and the darkness that suddenly covered the hall caused an involuntary cry of fear. All the spectators froze and there was a tense, ringing silence for several moments, which was then broken by applause and shouts of “bravo”....
One of the characters in Camus' play says about Caligula: "He has an undeniable influence. He forces you to think." The same can be said about the play "Caligula": visually striking, it makes you think about many questions, for example, about the nature of cruelty, depravity and permissiveness of some people and slave psychology others, about human fears and paradoxes of love, personality metamorphoses and what happens when a person loses God in his soul and, turning away from the light, turns to darkness.
I thank for this incredible performance and congratulate on the triumphant premiere the director-choreographer Sergei Zemlyansky, Ilya Malakov, set designer and costume designer Maxim Obrezkov, all the creators of "Caligula", all the actors and, of course, artistic director Provincial Theater of Sergei Bezrukov. THANK YOU! And happy creative path"Caligula" - a performance that sounded at full power without words, giving a sea of impressions and emotions!
The performance is staged in the genre of “plastic drama”. At the same time, the creation of artistic images occurs not only with the help of body plasticity and bright musical accents, but also with the use of characteristic dance elements, music, scenography, and visual effects. At the heart of the production Sergei Zemlyansky - not only the plot of the play of the same name by Albert Camus, but also historical materials, plots of works of art by other authors.
Sergey Zemlyansky creates plastic performances with dramatic artists and is essentially the founder of a new direction in drama theater- “plastic drama”. This direction appeared at the intersection of three theatrical genres: dramatic performance, dance theater and the expressive emotions of pantomime. The basis of the wordless style, as the director himself denotes it, was the creation of an artistic image not only with the help of body plasticity and bright musical accents, but also with the use of characteristic dance elements. Sergei Zemlyansky's performances are distinguished by enormous expression, grotesque presentation of character images, and the use of visual and musical effects. Creating plastic performances with dramatic artists, he believes that “nothing can reveal and convey all the edges and crannies of a complex human soul as precise and powerful as body language.”
The value of the new style “Plastic Drama” lies in the fact that translation occurs in it dramatic works in a language understandable in any country in the world. After all, emotions are understandable to everyone. Only the most deep meaning, cleared of the falsehood of words. Depriving the dramatic actor of his most important tools - text and voice, Zemlyansky finds new tools of expression. Music, scenography, and visual effects come to his aid.
This work of the director-choreographer will be the second working together with the troupe of the Provincial Theater: most recently, the premiere of Anna Gorushkina’s play based on Arthur Miller’s play “View from the Bridge” took place, where Sergei Zemlyansky acted as a plastic director.
In addition, “Caligula” will continue to develop the direction chosen by the Moscow Provincial Theater - to be “a theater accessible to everyone.” Its repertoire already includes performances with audio commentary services, accessible to visually impaired viewers. And in “Caligula”, in addition to dramatic artists, hearing-impaired actors will be employed.
Sergey Zemlyansky: “The idea to stage “Caligula” arose a long time ago. The historical figure of Guy Julius Caesar himself still continues to live, being reborn from century to century in literature, cinema and theatrical productions. We will work in our traditional non-verbal manner, depriving the characters of “words”. In the play Hearing-impaired artists will take part. We find it interesting to use their familiar sign language, which will be given an artistic form. This joint philosophy will make the work even more multifaceted!
The production is based not only on the plot of the play of the same name by Albert Camus, but also on historical materials and plots of works of art by other authors. We don't want to limit ourselves to one story. We are interested in fantasizing, composing a play together with the actors, creating the world of the hero, the reasons for his actions and desires. We are not interested in who is good and who is bad. We explore the reasons for what exactly makes a person cruel and why people still crave such rulers. What creates fear and the desire to obey? Is this a curse or the only form of existence?”
Sergey Bezrukov, artistic director
“Perhaps the choice of this material for production in our time will cause surprise. It would seem that what do we need in the history of the Roman emperor Gaius Julius Caesar, nicknamed Caligula? The classic question is: what do we need Hecuba? But there is nothing more important and interesting than exploring the nature of man, his passions, ups, downs - “the life of the human spirit” that Stanislavsky spoke about. How does a vulnerable youth grow into a tyrant, whose cruelty was legendary, what happens to him? Sergei Zemlyansky is a talented director with his own unusual theatrical language, and I think for our actors to work with him, to try themselves in a new genre, is a very useful experience.”
Director-choreographer – Sergey Zemlyansky
Scenography and costumes– Maxim Obrezkov
Composer– Pavel Akimkin
Author of the libretto– Vladimir Motashnev
Lighting designer– Alexander Sivaev
Assistant choreographer– Dmitry Akimov
Starring: Ilya Malakov, Stanislav Bondarenko, People's Artist RF Maria Alexandrova, Maria Bogdanovich (ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater), Katerina Shpitsa, Zoya Berber, Vera Shpak and others.
Address: M. Kuzminki, Volgogradsky Prospekt, 121
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Description
History of creation
The idea of creating a play about the tyrant emperor Caligula came to Albert Camus in 1937. The work was based on the work of the Roman historian Suetonius, which the writer was engrossed in. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Camus was deeply fascinated by the complex and extraordinary personality of the bloodthirsty emperor. In his work he did not claim historical accuracy. Camus set himself the goal of highlighting the problem of Caligula's violent metaphysical protest. Using the lines that Caligula actually spoke, Camus gives them a slightly different meaning, deeper and with philosophical overtones.
The first edition of the play was completed in 1939. A series of more edits followed. With each new edition the personality of the protagonist became more and more complex and multifaceted. Shortly before the work was ready for publication, the Second World War began World War. This prevented "Caligula" from seeing the world. In the midst of the war, Camus created the next and final version of the play. In addition to the changes made to the plot, Camus supplemented the work with notes regarding the scenery.
The premiere screening of "Caligula" took place in 1945 in Paris. The audience was inspired by the production. Many associated the image of Caligula with Hitler, however, the author himself did not set out to draw historical parallels.
Features of the production
The idea to stage Caligula on the stage of Sovremennik was nurtured for almost eight years. She came to the Lithuanian director Eimuntas Nyakrosius during the rehearsal of another magnificent play - “The Cherry Orchard”, in which Yevgeny Mironov played Lopakhin superbly.
When staging "Caligula" different directors Caligula's motivation is interpreted differently. According to Nyakrosius, the emperor’s cruelty stems from his extraordinary life philosophy, out of desperate attempts to restore stability to their dangerously shaken world.
Plot of the play
Caligula is a young emperor. He is filled with faith in his own power and enjoyment of life in all its manifestations. But one day his picture of the world is shattered: first his sister dies, and then his beloved. Having buried the people who were closest to him, Caligula is transformed. His thoughts are taken over by the idea of getting rid of attachments, taken to the point of absurdity. When the patricians find Caligula in the garden after several days of absence, he tells them that from now on everything will change.
Systematically and cruelly, he deprives his courtiers, first of their fortune, then of their dignity, of their loved ones and, ultimately, of their lives. He does all this with complete absence any sympathy. His actions are devoid of theatricality and strain. He is consistent and calm, giving the order to execute one of the patricians. The courtiers, in turn, with slavish obedience endure all the emperor's antics, condemning him among themselves, but falling silent as soon as the tyrant appears. When he makes them dance and laugh, they follow his instructions, despite the fact that recently he raped the wife of one of them, killed the son of another...
Soon the old patrician tells Caligula that a conspiracy is being prepared against him. Some of the courtiers have been driven to the extreme point and do not intend to tolerate bullying any longer. Oddly enough, even this does not cause any special emotions in the emperor. Even when Kerea reveals Caligula to his plans to assassinate him, he allows him to escape unharmed.
Involved in the play
- Evgeniy Mironov
- Helicon: Igor Gordin
- Caesonia: Maria Mironova
- Kereya: Alexander Gorelov
- Mucius: Alexey Kizenkov
- Scipio: Evgeny Tkachuk, Kirill Byrkin
The play “Caligula” is the winner of several theater awards and has taken part in tours across Russian cities. Nyakrosius's "Caligula" was repeatedly shown on international festivals, including Adriana's Villa in Italy. Don't miss this magnificent performance. You can buy tickets to “Caligula” at the lowest prices on our website. Here you will find not only the opportunity to pay for your purchase in any way convenient for you, but also a detailed schedule, the most full information about the performance, quality service and timely information support.
