the Life of Alexander Anatolyevich Shirvindt, the legendary artist and artistic Director of the wit, now a little than differs from life of millions of our fellow citizens — he is in quarantine, as he says in “limbo”. But not in a dark prison, and the family nest in the old academic village under a New Jerusalem. But unlike such well honed, he’s like no one in those days felt that life goes on despite and in spite of all sorts of monsters-coronavirus. For a week he became a grandfather three times and the fifth time great-grandfather. About homespun essence of life in a global sense and its total immutability, about fathers and grandfathers and, of course, about the theatre and we talked to datacenter Shirvindt.
— Alexander, you have been living (God grant another 100 years), many had seen and experienced. Tell me the current situation is even remotely something reminds you of a past life?
— Indeed, live a long time, and it was a shitload of various disasters, but this… no, I do not remember. You said here that “long live”. It reminded me of a brilliant story by Leo Tolstoy: it someone said, “How about you, Lev Nikolayevich, do you feel?” “Yes, old age does not pass”. So I also have a old did not pass. Although it takes… I Have a feeling that now it’s like… how you say… a rehearsal of the Apocalypse.
— Well, you know, it from from anyone, but not you, Alexander, I’d expect the decadence of the spirit.
— nevertheless it is. Because how many in my lifetime: and fascism, and of anti-Semitism, and Arab and other foci, and nuclear bombs… But it was like focal, without a crash and scale… And to a universal catastrophe — I do not remember. You know, the feeling that came signal. Still, if we’re talking about other worlds, civilizations and galaxies, I think they’ve seen enough on this our earthly nonsense and decided this signal to give us, to see how will react. And the horror that it already has no relation to the order, or economy.
When at the beginning of the pandemic began to shout: “Let’s unite!”, still had hope. But when there was such sarcastic-compassionate tone, saying, in America, died over, and we have less — then I realized — the end. This is the beginning of the second war: let’s start to compete who has more died. So a serious story, the end of civilization. I also was talking about Tolstoy, did not pull to see what would happen, I think you would be interested. I’m here now in prison, and come to mind all sorts are, roughly speaking, thoughts. At first they seem like some philosophical revelation in the withered, yet unopened soil, and then come straight-away to the primitive sensations.
please Explain.
— What is our planet, which is absolutely dying and that is tortured? Sune alive, all organisms has two options: to get food to eat and to defecate. Picture this, we go down with the colossal machinery at the bottom of the ocean, and then suddenly in the depth of, say, 20 thousand meters of the swim something huge with two beads instead of eyes, full of pearls, then there’s a long thread, and then — mother of pearl peacock tail type. And it is all the time and eats… But if you climb from the depths of the oceans and emerge somewhere on land, you will see humanoid, and their existence will be identical: eat and… regardless of who it is — Pushkin, Chekhov, Cleopatra, Hitler, Stalin… the Only one doubt I have is Diogenes with his barrel, and the first astronauts had not yet studied the problem of shit in zero gravity. And all this invented a God machine, distinguished for the beauty and content, there is a living world. Another thing is that all is everywhere and always has been. So, the signal is now one — all this could end. I have such primitive feelings about the moment.
Want to say that the war that you have personally experienced, not as bad as what drew now — the rehearsal for the Apocalypse with pearl eyes and with a peacock’s tail?
— I’m not talking about the degree of fearfulness, but about the degree of volume. Neither in Africa nor in Switzerland Second world war was not. Here I am in the theatre prepared the performance on the war, wanted to play with it may 9, two times, once after the parade and on the second evening, even the handbills issued “Our sotirovski immortal regiment”. Because we, when I picked up all the materials in the Museum, it turned out, how many are artists “Satire” war — Anatoly Papanov, his wife Nadezhda Karataeva, Eugene Vesnik… still we have a Victor of Rahmanov, he was 90 years old, and he is the son of the regiment. Had to go on stage and tell people what it’s like to be a son of the regiment. And Vera Vasilyeva was quenched lighters on the roof, Natalia Zaschipina, being a 4-year-old girl, starred in a children’s movie. Valentin Pluchek directed the Theater of the Northern fleet and the Georgy Menglet — Theatre of the southern front. And the tragic fate of Tokarski, with all its disasters, to Kolyma. Wow!!! Anyway, I came up with such a touching evening, he would have crawled, I remembered how my boy was transported to the evacuation. And rightly so, that all that I remember, the main thing that was not pantarei and empty phrase.
— pantry and emptiness had a lot lately. In the system of values confused country: patriotism for some, money for others, often crazy, undeserved. Maybe the isolation will protect not only from the coronavirus, but was forced to change something in your life?
— as for the money, they are certainly necessary. But as it turned out, I hope, understand that in isolation, they have to spend on the fact that the EU��s, and as long as you need. The deficit (and I most of my life lived in an atmosphere of scarcity) — the engine of progress, enthusiasm, creativity. I remember when I opened the “iron curtain”, there first has penetrated the composers, and when he returned, Nikita Bogoslovsky said the following sentence about the composer’s: “Really gone crazy — was to bring items the second and third necessary”. Now a huge number of people who have items 176-th and million needed. Belch of meaninglessness, it annoys others. A man who has reached, — tedious, wants nothing. Maybe what we’ll argue, make you wonder — why so many?
— Maybe, and educational level correct? Moreover, many offers on the Internet — lectures, conferences, people first-class artists, reading books.
— When you say that in isolation you might think, to sit, to read, to deal with children — it is nonsense, utopia!
Why?
Because people who never read, think, suddenly starts to read? Or the one that didn’t know what he’s running around the apartment, the children start to play with them and read them a story about goldfish? It’s a utopia, Plenum, because the isolation can be stabbing, suicide, destruction of the family — with one hand. On the other, still hope for a population explosion. When you were born, the Soviet Union was in full swing the development of virgin and fallow lands. And in the Theater of the Lenin Komsomol, where I worked (he was not named “Lenk”), was acting brigade — they went to the Virgin lands, then BAM and so on. So, in the theatre we had such an artist Ulyanov (don’t remember his name), a wonderful person, with a totally crazy mind on the basis of public works. And so he took us to virgin territory, and in the winter, that he is even in the Central Committee said, “in the Winter it is minus 40, and no one there does not plow”. “No, no,’ he said. — They have to be maintained in the winter.” We went in the snow stood the cabins, where lived the virgin soil, we could hardly get to them. What am I? To the fact that in winter there was nothing to do, and they round winter did children. Here then was the extraordinary population explosion. Today, our isolation is fraught with something similar. You see, there are lots of pros and cons.
You are a realist and you always saved your sense of humor. In these volumes the disaster, it seems that the humor is somehow not really working.
— you Know, humor is a thing that can not be think of in connection with the situation: either it exists or not. I am now in prison in the country his apart old books and magazines. Got a bunch of “Crocodile” from 1956 to 1960, redefined: you can go crazy — all the same that now! Poor Americans, cartoons from atomic bomb — one to one at schooldnesnim day. It took some 60 years, and these logs can be cleaned and re-read. So everything is back to normal.
Now another humorous situation: people who are relaxed Nude, relaxed Mozgov, and diarrhea, which one is, on the one hand, I was terribly excited: I’m jealous — they all can, not afraid of anything. On the other hand, they say all the time: “censorship, censorship”. The word “censorship” is the root of “qualification” and it is true that there is no censorship, and the voting is over. Because in addition to the censors, there was a large amount of amazing editors, which in addition to the anti-Soviet still clung to another, seeking from the authors, that was funny, intelligent, tasteful and rolls over, in terms of vulgarity. And if we talk about humor during a disaster, as without him? If all the time pumping and not to seek even in my worst moments poluulybki, polusrednego paradoxical, then just hung up.
All hope it will end sooner or later, question is when?
— And where it will go — over, of course.
— Yes, and you, like all your colleagues will return to the theatre. What do you think, will the theatre? And if so, what?
— In all. First, Soviet, Russian repertory theatre even before the pandemic was disastrously sick. Treatments my generation has accelerated with great force. Well, go and go — C’est La vie, as they say. But the era, the style, and goes Russian repertory theatre. And now, when she was two and a half representative of this case.
what will?
— I think that will be fixed entreprise. Secondly, enterprise will move into the building of theaters, art where there is no leader, no Director, and there are great producers. Notice that now there is a wonderful enterprise, and creepy repertory theatres, but all mixed together. In connection with what I told you above, there will be many sites, and powerful managers will go in there. And if you have the courage and will of the founders, the theaters will be less than is second. A close under the guise of a pandemic, saying, sorry, we can’t contain 188 theaters, and can contain only 187. I remember the moment of us for a long time living in the theatre in Moscow wanted to create a Council of elders and to delegate to him the right to close the theatres. We said that it is not necessary for us to pass the buck. And now the coronavirus all he’ll do.
But the question arises — when this opens theatres like to work with? It will be necessary to keep distance of 3 m between people, and sell tickets over one or two chairs. And if family come from? If people have no money, so we need to reduce ticket prices is another poverty. A theater without audience is like phone sex. See, some questions.
March 27 my guys I finally passed musiclny the show, which they did for almost a year — the Paradise by Emile Zola. Such a thick novel, read it, and only Yuri Ryashentsev, our brilliant Yuri, and make it a musical. I can’t hear the word “musical” and said that if there is a play with music — I’m ready. Year Kolupaev, and finally the sixth attempt I passed. Happen (PAH-PAH) cute play, cute, with good music, there are young people and our elderly. The evening was supposed to play, and it all began. This is not a film that can be put on the shelf. To recover, you have to start all over again.
But now the theaters EN masse went online and see this salvation. At least the audience has not forgotten them.
— Online is pure onanism. So if we talk about our theatre business — a new age has begun. And maybe there is a person or group of people who come up with a new scheme of his existence.
If the coronavirus detonate the reduction in theatres, change of chubrukov… You assume it has something to try?
— I have been living in this area still remember you young sassy teatroved. I will say this — the theatre do need strength and will. The only thing I can afford, based on their observations — not to miss a smile or compassion. Stupid that now all of this happened, you will have to help from this creep. As for the prospects, then, bitch, old age, did not pass.
the Last question is personal. During the rehearsal of the Apocalypse were born great-grandchildren-twins.
— Now tell me who could come up with that at the beginning of this viral catastrophe born of two twins, Sasha, my granddaughter’s favorite. They were recently brought to our cottage for the bride, and I am three meters in the mask looked funny on Seeds and Matthew. One on the palm is placed, and the other big. Not had time to take them to Moscow, the next day my 62-year-old son Misha, newlyweds (in the winter he combined legal marriage), had a son, who did not even call. To me it still hasn’t arrived yet — they are in the hospital. That is, Michael had two grandchildren, and at the same time he became the father of these grandchildren, uncle. And uncle one month younger than nephews. And here to afford in this period of terrible isolation, and the universal nightmare of the impossibility of any communication to purchase three newborn need to have the audacity, courage, impudence and of course a sense of humor. Imagine what will happen in ten or fifteen or twenty years, when these three men will say that they were born in early may of 2020, in the period of self-isolation. This is the beginning of the biography.
