Tuminas supported the appointment of Shuliev as the chief director of the Vakhtangov Theater

On Tuesday afternoon, an important appointment took place at the Vakhtangov Theatre, which has been operating for a year now without an artistic director. The main director appeared here – he was 33-year-old Anatoly Shuliev. This post was held by Yury Butusov before leaving the country. On Tuesday afternoon, the new chief director was introduced to the troupe.

The meeting was started by the director, who named the new editor-in-chief. The position of artistic director or chief director is appointed by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, which is the founder of the Vakhtangov Theatre. Therefore, from the cultural department at the meeting of the troupe was the director of the Department of State Support for Art and Folk Art of the Ministry of Culture Oksana Kosyreva.

– This is a colossal responsibility and honor, because work in the Vakhtangov Theater is a sign of special quality. – said the official. – I would like to wish him creative success. Vakhtangov preserves his traditions from generation to generation and passes them on to the next generations. But along with this, everything new is here.

Kosyreva stressed that in connection with the appointment of the chief director, the theater management scheme does not change, and all responsibility will still remain with director Kirill Krok.

Let me remind you that the Vakhtangov Theater worked for a whole year without an artistic director – one director, Kirill Krok, was responsible for everything here. And, judging by the results, he steered very effectively, representing if not an ideal, then quite an exemplary version of the director’s theater. For the season, which is already coming to an end, 10 premieres have been released here, the last with the participation of Lyudmila Maksakova – “The Queen Mother” – will take place at the end of this month. But the most important thing is that this year a grandiose project for the revival of the Vakhtangov House in Vladikavkaz was completed.

And now the Ministry of Culture has appointed the chief director here – Anatoly Shulyev. In the corps of artistic directors and chief directors of Moscow, he is the youngest – he is 33 years old. What is known about him? Born in Vladikavkaz, just like Evgeny Vakhtangov and Ruben Simonov, the second chief director in the history of Vakhtangov.

From 2008 to 2011 Shuliev studied at the acting department of GITIS (M.V. Skandarov’s workshop). And in 2011 he was admitted to the directing department of the Theater Institute. B. Schukin on the course of Tuminas.

His undergraduate performance The King is Dying based on the play by Ionesco was included in the repertoire of Vakhtangov’s New Stage. In his track record there are six productions of a large form in the theater. Mayakovsky, the public goes well with them. As a filmmaker, he has made several short films. Since 2017, he has been teaching at the acting department of GITIS.

At the performance of the troupe, the new chief director of Vakhtangovsky was clearly agitated and in response said:

– Exciting, but all their own. There is little fear. Apparently, fate is such that the further I moved away from Vakhtangovsky after my studies, the more I approached him. For me, this is a high-flying theater, a theater of romance. Always wanted to come back here. Like home. And you know me, we speak the same language, we have the same teacher. I am open to your offer. We will create and keep the height. I want everything to work out.

At the end of the presentation of the new chief director, I asked Kirill Krok a few questions.

– Kirill Igorevich, Shuliev is your candidate, presented to the Ministry of Culture. Why did you choose him? Were you not embarrassed that he was too young for such a position and did not yet have a big name, like his predecessor, Yuri Butusov?

– Firstly, he is a student of Rimas Tuminas, and Rimas Vladimirovich supported his candidacy. He said that this is probably the best option for the Vakhtangov Theater today. Second, and very important, Shuliev has a higher professional education. Thirdly, he is from Vladikavkaz, his parents live there, and this is an important factor for the history of Vakhtangovsky.

Finally, Tolya staged three successful performances for us – “Zweig. Short stories” on the Simonovskaya stage, “Fool” on the Novaya and the last premiere, which took place in March – “Amadeus” on the Historical. He is a young, ambitious person, he knows the troupe well and, most importantly, he is not a destroyer. Let him try, and I will help him in every possible way.

– Were there other candidates for the post of director of the most successful theater in the country?

– Of course, there was a choice, I considered several candidates. But on the figure of Anatoly Shuliev, several factors converged, which I mentioned above. He is not alien to us. It also matters to me that he has the right views on life in today’s conditions.

– What is meant?

– That is, he will not engage in cheap politicking, but will work for the benefit of the Vakhtangov Theater. At the same time, we will keep the trend when different directors should stage in the theater. What – we will discuss it with him together, of course, such issues cannot be resolved without the main director.

We have already said this: the Vakhtangov Theater with its six venues is not an author’s theater, and during the season we must release many premieres by different directors working in different directions. And we will also do everything to occupy the troupe as much as possible, in which today there are 109 people.

Krok confirmed that the theater plans did not change.

How the most experienced director and, in fact, the master of the situation will work with the newcomer, whether he will subdue himself, it will be clear already in the next season. Something else is interesting here: the appointment of a young director, and not an actor, to such a serious position is a coincidence, or is it still a trend towards the rejuvenation of leading cadres in subordinate theaters, which was taken by the Ministry of Culture?