The artistic director of the theater “At the Nikitsky Gate” promised to stage a triptych based on Chekhov

Actors don’t get to sit in the auditorium very often, and the training camp is just that exceptional day when this happens. Rested, rushing into battle, they made noise, applauded Rozovsky, themselves, yesterday’s students of GITIS, “Pike” and “Sliver”, who begin working in the theater this fall. They even shouted over their artistic director – a couple of times from the stage he had to stop the wards. But all this proved that the theater “At the Nikitsky Gate” is young both in terms of the age of most of the artists, and in soul.

Mark Grigoryevich, despite his 86, also sought to show that he was on the way with the youth. At first, he “ran out” onto the stage in a golden court mask from the play “The Captain’s Daughter”, took a breath and asked:

Well, friends, are you bored? (Noise, applause.)

According to tradition, after that a bottle of “Soviet champagne” was uncorked, its contents poured into a “glass” the size of an aquarium and put through the rows.

To do this, they called the “permanent cupbearer” – Honored Artist of Russia Andrei Molotkov. “He does this for the 41st time in his life,” says Rozovsky.

“No, I did it much more often,” the artist objects, causing laughter in the hall.

A “shot” is heard, and Mark Grigoryevich literally shouts:

– 41st season is considered open!

Addressing his colleagues, Rozovsky reminded that the theater is designed to guess the needs of the audience, but not to please the public, although this promises full houses.

— One must serve the highest in art. The writer can write on the table, but the theater must open the door at seven o’clock in the evening and here and now, at this moment, in this space, present the most important thing to the viewer.

Then the artistic director said that initially his theater was conceived as an author’s theater, but it became clear that the classics were also needed – Russian, foreign. And in confirmation of his words, he named the productions that await the audience in the new season.

At the end of the year, rehearsals of “The Wedding” based on the works of Mikhail Zoshchenko will begin, then the turn of the main work will come – “Don Quixote” by Mikhail Bulgakov – “with additions and getting rid of some episodes and scenes”:

– This will be a test for all the performers of the roles – and Don Quixote, and Sancho Panza, and others. Bulgakov’s play was practically never staged, and if staged, it almost failed. We will have to overcome the difficulties in understanding this artistic array …

In addition, Rozovsky announced a new version of Lolita based on Nabokov’s prose.

“We will have to do a facelift of our old dramaturgy, since we do not have an extension of the rights from the heirs of Albee (who adapted the scandalous novel for the theater in the 80s. — I.V.). I think this is complete stupidity, but we were refused. Nevertheless, Nabokov is a great Russian writer. And the return of Lolita is very important for us, ”Rozovsky complained.

But if it was not possible to resolve disputes with the heirs of the American, then the Polish classic Slawomir Mrozhek Rozovsky was allowed to stage.

“Literally five minutes ago we received permission for Mrozhek,” Mark Grigoryevich admitted. Against the backdrop of “repertory losses” of many Russian theaters caused by the deterioration of relations with the West, this is very good news.

He also mentioned the “near future” of his theater – the fantasy comedy “Face” based on the play by Alexander Galin, the play “Dedication to Jobs” and, perhaps, the most ambitious idea, for the sake of which the three creators of the legendary film “D’Artagnan and Three Musketeers”: Rozovsky himself, composer Maxim Dunayevsky and songwriter, poet Yuri Ryashentsev. Together they will release a new musical based on Chekhov’s story “Darling”, which, most likely, will become part of a triptych inspired by the work of Anton Pavlovich dedicated to the female fate: “Darling”, “Lady with a Dog” and “Jumper”.

After all this, Rozovsky is expected to turn to the ancient Greek classic Lysistrata by Aristophanes and stage two of his own plays: Princess Tarakanova (working title) and Who Killed Simon-Demanche, about the Russian comedian Sukhovo-Kobylin.

Rozovsky also made several timely statements:

“The most terrible danger of today is when there is a tendency in society towards bestiality, the loss of humanity and philanthropy. Of course, not all society is infected with this…

– Today, all over the world, an attack on this kind of art (human. – I.V.). I came from vacation from one country. In the city where we were, for many years there was a monument to Pushkin – it was demolished.

We are also at the front. There is an attack on Russian culture, and it comes from within, and we have a kind of “column”.

– The Russian world is the world of Tolstoy, Chekhov, Volodya Vysotsky, Bulgakov, Dostoevsky, Cervantes (Don Quixote is the most Russian hero of world literature). We are fans of this Russian world. Our civil position is in our performances.

“They offer us “public councils” and some nonsense. We have our own responsibility. Now there is a lot of pseudo-patriotism, all kinds of manifestations. Let’s quietly but stubbornly do our part. This is our task, this is our Motherland.