The meaning of the merger of theaters is not yet clear to me

Our observer is talking with the artistic director of the Modern Theater, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Yuri Grymov.

— Yury Vyacheslavovich, this season you hosted the premiere of the comedy “Maskvichi”. And what are the future plans?

– We have a trilogy in the theater, which I called “Antichrist and Christ.” The premiere of the first performance – “Peter I” – has already taken place. The second performance is called “Leonardo da Vinci”, the third – “Judas”. I am currently working on a sequel.

What inspired you to create this trilogy?

“The world has seen Christ, Buddha, Mohammed, heard them, but the level of society’s morality has not changed at all. Although technology has stepped to an unprecedented level. Technique, but not morality. It seemed to me that we would be able to put before the viewer the right questions on this topic.

— Today, everyone is very concerned about the process of merging theaters. What do you think of it?

“Fortunately, it didn’t affect us. This is done by the Department of Culture, I hope they have some idea. I think that many do not understand why this is done. If the goal is economic profitability, then, well, yes, it probably has a right to exist. There are 82 theaters in Moscow, there will be fewer of them. Although I don’t understand, frankly, how you can “merge” potatoes and radishes, although both vegetables grow in the ground.

– How difficult would it be for you, from the point of view of the artistic director, to carry out such a merger?

– I think it’s difficult. If the theater has another stage, then yes, I understand what it is. But if at the same time I have the goal of preserving the individuality of both theaters, then this is already much more difficult. If it is necessary to carry out a merger of collectives, then in general it is not yet clear how they can merge: all collectives are very different. But this, probably, should be commented on by the theaters that fell under this story, to which the purpose of such a merger was explained at a general meeting. In any case, this is a big job for an artistic director.

I often think about the fact that the dignity of the Soviet Union was also in the fact that we also had small, quite successful theaters in the basements of sleeping areas, and there was a Bolshoi Theater. Wonderful story. Because thanks to this diversity, our theater has survived. Why? Because there were theater enthusiasts, because they loved the Russian drama school.

But the movie collapsed, I think so. There are no studios that were in the USSR – there are only rental companies, pavilions that you can rent, and services of services. Of course, you say, some one-off films come out at these studios. Well, yes, they do. How can the state finance? Well, funding. But there is no industry!

And the theater industry is! There are complex theatres. There are theaters with a name. There are new theatres. I know what is happening with us at the Modern Theater, what success we have achieved in these incomplete six years. Moreover, out of these six years that the theater has existed under my leadership, two years fell on the pandemic.

– Do young people come to your theater to work?

– Recently, I went to see new guys who dream of working in Modern.

– Do you have students yourself?

— No, although I used to teach. Now I only give master classes. It’s complicated.

– Is there any thought that you want to share that is not related to the latest productions?

– I try to put all my thoughts into performances, to carry everything on stage. I put a lot of meanings there, even in such historical works as “War and Peace” or “Peter I”. It’s important for me.

What are your plans for the cinema?

– The premiere of the comedy “Maskvichi” has passed, and I want to make a film based on this material.

— You are going to shoot in Moscow. since we are talking about “Maskviches”?

– There is a difficult situation, because part of the story takes place abroad, in America. So let’s style…

– And today in Moscow you can shoot America?

– Of course, cinema is a great deceiver, and anything can be done in cinema if you have imagination.

Elena Bulova.

Photo from the Modern Theater website

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