The words in the title of the production are unfamiliar to most viewers. A humorous warning: “We ask those with weak nerves to refrain from visiting” (we read on the theater’s website). Scientific and educational lectures are like educational programs for future viewers…
Time period: beginning of the twentieth century. The location of the action is the Foundry Theater, which at the beginning of its creative life, it turns out, followed the tradition of the famous Parisian “Grand Guignol” of frightening the respected audience, making them faint… “But our performance is not a historical reconstruction, but free, ironic, and sometimes a little creepy , and at times a melodramatic fantasy on the theme of the Theater of Horror,” the release says.
The heroes of the action are the theatrical people (playwright, director, actors, props worker, doctor accepted into the troupe, censor). And also a police detective. And also ghosts, goblins, ghouls, mummies… Mysticism. Cranberry blood, or maybe real? The murder of a theater prima was committed. “All of St. Petersburg is seething.”
The authors of the libretto are Konstantin Rubinsky and Maxim Maximov. Popular musicals based on Rubinsky’s libretto “Iceville”, “The Great Gatsby”, “White Petersburg”, “Peter the First” are staged in St. Petersburg. The spectacular scenery is the fantasy of the artist Themistocles Atmadzas.
Maxim Koshevarov and Alexander Maev wrote music especially for the theater. The Grand Guignol features a musical ensemble with accordion, piano, violin, double bass and guitar.
More than half of the troupe participates in the performance. Starring: Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Sergei Gamov, Alexander Tsybulsky, Sergei Shokolov, Asya Shirshina, Tatyana Tuzova, Svetlana Shavrova, Alexander Bezrukov, and other artists.
This is what director Sergei Morozov told RG.
Elizaveta Kunitsyna and Asya Shirshina. Photo: Viktor Vasiliev
How did a performance with an unpronounceable title come about?
Sergey Morozov: In fact, it is no coincidence that this performance appeared in the theater’s repertoire in 2024 – a double anniversary for us: 115 years since the start of theatrical activity and the 80th anniversary of the organization of the regional theater, which for a long time bore the name “Regional Theater of Drama and Comedy.” Of course, we turned to the exact date when the first theatrical performances were performed on stage at Liteiny, 51. In 1909, the theater opened with performances by the Grand Guignol (Theater of Horror) troupe. It was created similar to the French Grand Guignol theater, which appeared at the end of the 19th century. The repertoire was similar.
Much in our play has historical confirmation. For example, why is Pegasus on our logo and why is he, in fact, one of the characters in this performance? At first, this space housed an equestrian arena, then there was a roller rink (roller skating rink), and for 115 years now a theater has lived here. This is one of the oldest theatrical spaces in the cultural capital of Russia, not counting the imperial theaters.
For almost all 115 years (with the exception of the period of the Leningrad blockade and several years of restoration of this building after the war), theatrical life has always been in full swing here. And this appeal to the starting point of the current Theater “On Liteiny”, on the one hand, allows us to plunge into history, and, on the other hand, through the plot of more than a century ago, we can talk about the essence of the theater, about its role for people both inside and outside the theater. outside. For me, this performance is, first of all, not a hymn to the horror theater, and not even so much a hymn to the Foundry Theater, but rather a hymn to the theater as such and the people of the theater.
This is an original work in every sense. The play was written especially for us by one of the leading authors of musical theater, Konstantin Rubinsky and Maxim Maximov. The music was written by wonderful composers Alexander Mayev and Maxim Koshevarov, their works are performed both at the St. Petersburg Musical Comedy Theater and in many cities of Russia, professionals with many hundreds of film projects behind them.
Ignatius Kondrashkin, police detective – Igor Pavlov Prince Alexander Pavlovich Donduk-Zasekin, patron of the theater, playwright – Honored Artist of Russia Sergei Gamov. Photo: Sergey Rybezhsky
It is necessary to note the role of two wonderful musical directors of the performance. High-level professionals – the theater choirmaster, vocal teacher Olga Tikhomirova, as well as Tatyana Vinogradova, musical director of the Perm Academic Theater “Theatre Theatre”, a significant part of the repertoire of which has recently been musicals. By the way, Tatyana is a repeated winner of the Golden Mask in the category “Work of a conductor in the theater.”
The team includes set designer Themistokles Atmadzas, author of wonderful costumes Irina Dolgova, lighting designer Valentin Bakoyan, choreographers Irina Lyakhovskaya and Alexander Osinin, assistant director, speech teacher Lyudmila Boyarinova. These are all talented co-authors of a multi-genre, multi-layered, polyphonic work that combines melodrama, comedy, detective, mysticism, guignol, horror…
The organic combination of genres is the most exciting, interesting and difficult task that we tried to solve during the production process. The wonderful instrumental quintet that accompanies the entire performance helps to combine this into a single action. For me, in this production it is important that there is a live sound of instruments and live vocals.
Today, many drama theaters have at least one musical performance, a musical.
Sergey Morozov: With this premiere we are not following fashion, but it seems to me, on the one hand, our theater has the right to a musical from the point of view of professional equipment. The troupe of the Theater “On Liteiny” is rightfully, now I can say this with confidence, considered one of the most singing among the drama troupes of St. Petersburg. Our repertoire includes the musical play “The Young Lady-Peasant Woman”, which has steadily held the love of the audience for more than 25 years, performances by Roman Smirnov “Shadow of the City”, “Apartment House”, and many other performances with vocal numbers. And the second thing is that each production should not just record the point at which the theater is developing, but also give new tasks, guidelines, new territories that need to be explored.
The performance will develop and gain even greater freedom. This is a living process. Unlike cinema, we have the opportunity to improve and refine works of art.
You dug deep!
Sergey Morozov: When we met with Konstantin Rubinsky, we knew for sure that we needed some kind of musical performance on the theme of the early 20th century. They told the playwright the history of the theater. This place is illuminated by the genius and presence here, within these walls or in the neighboring Fountain House, of many cultural figures of the Silver Age. Indeed, Kuzmin, Averchenko, and Teffi appeared on this stage, Andrei Bely, Bakst, Kustodiev worked here, Meyerhold staged… Akhmatova existed in this space.
We had lectures that preceded the performance, and a cultural scientist, a researcher of cinema and modern culture in general, said that in modern film content of all genres – action films, detective stories, horror, comedies, melodramas, children’s films, fairy tales, thrillers, noir… – The share of horror films is approximately 40 percent. That is, all other genres occupy only 60 percent. This was somewhat unexpected for me.
Photo: Sergey Rybezhsky
It took me a long time to get used to props with cut off hands and heads, because I’m not a fan of this genre. But when we began to treat this ironically, everything fell into place. By the way, the premiere of the play took place on Friday the thirteenth. This is not an accident, but it just happened.
So, when we settled on the topic of guignol, we used not only publications that appeared in the 21st century, related to the repertoire for cabaret and variety shows of the early 20th century. We went to the Theater Library and read mini-horror plays from the repertoire of that time. They are most often quite short (maybe because the viewer fainted, or maybe it was just a feature).
Turning to the archives, we studied the repertoire of the theater, which actually existed at the Grand Guignol Foundry Theater in those distant years of 1909, 1910 and 1911. In 1911, he changed his direction to the Mosaic Theater, where there was a mix of genres. Then there was the “Intimate Theater”, “Theater of Laughter”… Our performance is a kind of homage to that time, but which has a real history behind it.
For example, the full-time position of a doctor is a fact. The doctor was actually on duty for the spectators, who fainted and had seizures from the horror of what was happening. But, naturally, I believe that theater should not be scary now. We take all events on stage very seriously, but with a significant amount of irony. And this allows you to bring a kind smile to the viewer.
Next performances of the play: February 14 and 15.
By the way
“Grand Guignol” is a Parisian horror theater, one of the founders and pioneers of the horror genre. Worked in the Pigalle quarter (1897-1963).
Source: rg.ru
