– Songs of Russian punk music performed by a cappella women – it sounds interesting and unusual! How did you decide to tell the story of the Russian punk movement in this format?
– One of the key points in directorial decisions is the breadth of contexts. A sense of aesthetic pleasure and comfort arises when a symbiosis of certain phenomena is created in a performance, as far from each other as possible.
Can you tell us a little about the content of the production? Who are its heroes?
– These are people who seek freedom of expression, freedom of creativity, freedom from some principles of life, a way out of the system. This is a very youthful rebellion brought into a trendy mass subculture. What is seen in the texts happens to every person at a certain stage in his life. So, in any case, this is an analysis of the needs of a person, his soul. Of course, this is not rebellion for the sake of rebellion, but rebellion as a requirement of human nature.
— The announcement says that the project was created based on the memories of people belonging to the punk culture. Which rockers were involved in writing the script?
– In fact, the founder and leader of one of the most visible and interesting post-punk bands did a great job, but wished to stay hidden in this project. Therefore, I cannot name his group or surname. But let’s say he analyzed great and accurate books. While creating the project, we examined the diaries and memoirs of people, 80% of whom are no longer alive. These are mostly people from the 80s – they were 20-30 years old at the time. With such a busy life, few people live to mature old age.
– Performing, filling the space with only vocals and your own energy, is more difficult and arduous than singing along to music. What do the actresses themselves say about this experience?
They squeak with pleasure. And there will be music – the actresses will perform well-known works in the punk environment, arranged in a somewhat non-standard way for this culture.
– You recently presented the rap game True Crime with representatives of the new school of Russian-speaking hip-hop NEDRY, LIZER, SEEMEE and SQWOZ BAB. How was it?
– We staged a fake investigation in this game – we even shot a mini-series about a girl investigating her own murder.
– The organizers said that it is possible to watch the True Crime rap opera live only once. Why is it not planned to be repeated?
– That was exactly the case. In one place at a time, busy people gathered to talk at pretty serious fees. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to unite these people in such a theater project, which doesn’t even pay off for me in ordinary life. Therefore, it can only be a unique event.
– The series “The King and the Jester” increased the interest of young people in punk culture, the songs of the group rose to the top of the music charts. Do you think punk rock is eternal? What attracts young people in it?
– The audience is arranged in such a way that they are surprised, empathetic or delighted when they hear something close to them. I don’t know what percentage of the people in the room will have a punk background or a future. Maybe nobody. But the meanings will certainly be recognizable.
For teenagers, aesthetics are also important – most people perceive content visually. Punk images are also found among youth in other border cultures. Therefore, Iroquois and leather jackets were not removed from a dusty chest at once – even pop culture is full of such images.
– Many serials have great power and draw attention to certain topics and sectors – for example, the latest, the same “The King and the Jester”, “Actresses”, “Ballet”. For example, would you like to make a series about editing your performances?
– I spent a lot of time in different cultures, including the circus, hip-hop field, theaters. I’m currently developing a few series about circus culture.
– You are the former chief director of the Russian State Circus. What problems would you like to talk about in this sector in the series?
– We chose a vector like heraldic graters. In the circus, circus dynasties play a very important role, it is a network of very well-known surnames. It is difficult for a foreigner without relatives to enter this culture. It’s like Game of Thrones, only with a completely different aesthetic.
— What do you think a modern circus should be? Can you list examples of foreign circuses that fit your ideal?
– For me, the circus is one of the means of creating total art. I like to compose a kind of multi-layered works. In my understanding, there is no perfect circus, opera, theater or performance. I only detect certain movements. It’s interesting for me to watch a person trying to discover something for himself and society. And I demand the same of myself – some discoveries.
How likely are discoveries in the circus? After all, as you say, dynasties reign there – and this speaks of conservatism.
– Openings are impossible on circus territory. So much work has been done in this culture that it is impossible to compose anything new. If you declare that you have found a new one, then most likely you did not see it well or everyone forgot that it already happened. In fact, the situation is the same in cinema and, in principle, in art. Yes, in general and in life too. Therefore, the new arises from the synergy of certain cultures, energies, rules. Something must match something. The ideal circus is therefore an open circus, ready to absorb and share.
What is the current state of modern Russian theater?
– In the age of change, people are not very interested in theater, a few years ago it was different. Now there are other rules, other needs. At that moment the theater is quiet and watching, I have a feeling. He just observes and waits for some impulse to tell him how to improve. In this respect, it is a good time for the artists to scatter the stones, as they say.
— Where do you get ideas for unusual performances? Are there certain trends in this direction in the world?
“The more you do this, the more complex the knot that needs to be untied becomes. I mean, there are more and more instruments, the experience is getting richer, and yet you do not want to repeat yourself when choosing the ingredients from which the theatrical porridge is cooked. The problem is not to feel bad about repeating yourself. Finding new tools and moves for yourself is sometimes a painful process. Playing a premiere with a team of like-minded people is an incredible pleasure, and the path to this premiere is thorny.
– How do you understand that non-standard performances will appeal to the audience?
– Nothing is predictable. You can only believe in the team, in yourself, in your destiny.
— What advice would you give to those who are not interested in modern theater but want to learn to understand it? Maybe read some authors, start with certain performances?
– Afisha magazine – critics such as Pavel Rudnev published collections such as “top 10 performances”. It seems to me that even after watching them on video, you can create a picture for yourself and understand what kind of performances there are. I can recommend Eugene Onegin at the Vakhtangov Theater. To understand what traditional theater is, go to Theater.doc. To go to the Praktika theater – for example, to the play “Chapaev and the Void”, to the Pushkin Theater to see the “Good Man from Sezuan”, to Konstantin Raikin – so I already made a week plan.
– What are your plans for the near future?
– September 29 at the Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov will premiere his documentary play “The Curtain”, which coincides with the 125th anniversary of the theatre. There will be several festivals in Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow where our performances will be shown. And in fact, our punk premiere will be held on July 7 in Moscow.